China's Giant leads acquisition of Caesars' mobile gaming unit

SHANGHAI - Chinese gaming company Giant Network Ltd Co is leading a consortium to acquire Caesars Interactive Entertainment's mobile gaming unit for $4.4 billion, the company said on Sunday.

Under the deal, the consortium led by Giant Network's wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong would acquire Caesars' mobile social gaming unit NEW CIE. The unit develops chess and card games with business mostly in the United States. It would remain an independent operation after the deal.

The 4.4 billion cash buyout also counts Yunfeng Capital, an investment firm co-founded by Alibaba's founder Jack Ma, among the 14 investors in the consortium.

The deal came after Chinese Internet giant Tencent's announcement that it had acquired an 84.3-percent stake in Finnish mobile gaming developer Supercell for 8.6 billion dollars.