Alibaba Rival Sea Eyes Sale Of Phoenix Labs Game Developer To Focus On Core Business

• Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) weighed the sale of Vancouver-based indie developer Phoenix Labs as the Southeast Asian internet giant slashed costs and focused on its core business.

• The Singapore-based gaming and e-commerce company worked with an adviser on the potential divestment, Bloomberg reports.

• Sea acquired Phoenix Labs about three years ago in a deal that valued the game developer at over $150 million.

• Sea scaled back its overseas footprint and peripheral businesses as rising competition forced the company to focus on profitability rather than expanding abroad.

• Sea faced increasing pressure to cut costs, with growth in its e-commerce and gaming business slowing, losing over $160 billion of its market value since October 2021.

• Consumers became cautious about online spending post-pandemic recovery, as rising interest rates and prices weigh on the economy.

• In December, Sea founder Forrest Li decided to freeze salaries for most staff and pay out lower bonuses, bracing for an aggravating global economic environment in 2023.

• Sea made deep job cuts in 2022.

• Price Action: SE shares traded lower by 2% at $62.72 on the last check Wednesday.

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