Kaiying has indirectly invested 2.1 billion yuan in Yumede, which holds 80% of the revenue from the Legend IP license.

This evening (the 12th), Kaiying Network issued an announcement stating that it plans to indirectly hold approximately 19.7% of the shares in South Korea’s WeMade.

Kaiying partnered with a Hong Kong-based platform to establish an SPV (special purpose vehicle). Through a series of complex transactions, it acquired a 39.33% stake from WeMade’s founder for $608 million. Combined with the 0.92% stake it already held,it now holds approximately 40.25% of WeMade’s equity, making it WeMade’s largest shareholder. Kaiying holds a 49% stake in the SPV and, after looking through the structure, indirectly holds approximately 19.7% of WeMade’s equity.

The transaction values Yumedia at approximately 2.34 trillion won (about 10.3 billion yuan), with a price per share of 68,910 won—3.6 times the closing price of 19,330 won on the date the agreement was signed and 6 times its book net asset value.Kaiying is investing $298 million in this acquisition, equivalent to approximately 2.1 billion yuan.

The seeds of this deal were actually sown two months ago.

On June 30, the founder of WeMade officially announced the sale of his shares, with a mysterious Chinese investor taking over the company. At the time, the media’s first reaction was to wonder whether Century Huatong was involved. After all, since Century Huatong holds the exclusive mainland China licensing rights to the “Legend” IP, it was the most logical assumption.

However, Century Huatong immediately denied the reports, stating that the acquisition had nothing to do with the company.South Korean media also reported that the CEO of the acquiring party had close ties to Alibaba and that Alibaba personnel had assisted in the negotiations. Coupled with recent reports that Alibaba was selling Lingxi Interactive Entertainment, the identity of the buyer remained a mystery for a time. Two and a half months later, Kaiying revealed the answer in an official announcement.

In its announcement, Kaiying stated that the investment in WeMade aims to deepen its strategic partnership with the original rights holder of *Legend of Mir*, secure domestic adaptation and distribution rights for *Legend of Mir* mobile games, browser games, and H5 games, and expand into overseas markets through WeMade’s listing platform in South Korea.The terms of the transaction stipulate that the SPV will use its best efforts to enter into a licensing agreement with WeMade at a price no higher than that specified in the existing licensing agreement, and will then license the “Legend” IP to a party designated by Kaiying.

According to Gamma Data, the market size of the “Legend” IP is projected to reach 35.55 billion yuan in 2025, having remained stable at around 30 billion yuan for several consecutive years. The long-standing chaos caused by multiple licensing agreements has made “securing control over the source of copyrights” a crucial step.

For WeMade founder Park Kwan Ho, this was a way to break free from his financial constraints. He had previously pledged approximately 65% of his shares to 16 financial institutions, borrowing about 93 billion won, with multiple pledge agreements maturing in July and August of this year.WeMade posted a net loss of approximately 27 billion won in 2025, with its profits relying almost entirely on licensing fees from China. This, combined with the delisting of the WEMIX token from exchanges, has severely impacted the company’s ability to service its debt. Selling the shares at a 3.6-fold premium allows the company to avoid forced liquidation.

Disputes over the ownership of “Legend” IP in mainland China have a long history but have gradually been resolved in recent years.

In 2023, Yataos, a subsidiary of Century Huatong, acquired the exclusive mainland China rights to the Legend IP for a total of 500 billion won over five years.In 2025, a South Korean court confirmed an 80:20 revenue-sharing arrangement between WeMade and Atoos. By February 2026, Kaiying had reached a settlement with Legend IP, and by June, it had finalized royalty settlements with Atoos, effectively eliminating litigation risks and paving the way for this equity investment.