Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is said to have signed an agreement with The9 Ltd. on buying a 19 percent stake in the Chinese online game operator for about 200 million US dollars, local reprots said.

The agreement has been reached, according to Shanghai Securities News, but sources said that the two parties have not commented yet.

At the end of this March, The9 obtained the exclusive right to run EA's casual game FIFA Online in China, according to the newspaper.

If the equity purchase matter is true, The9 will get operating rights to run more sports-theme casual games from EA, while EA can enter into China's online game market indirectly, industry insiders commented.

China's online game market only generates 700-800 million US dollars a year.

Some experts are skeptical about the news, saying that The9 may just make up the story trying to get more publicity.

Earlier on March 20, EA announced it bout a 19 percent stake in the ROK-based online game developer Neowiz for 105 million US dollars, driving up Neowiz's share price by 12 percent.

EA is a leading American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of computer and video games, covering PC, PS and Xbox.

Source: Xinhua