Shanda Games CEO Jumps Ship In China After Online Game Acquisition Spree

Shanda Games Limited announced over the weekend that Diana Li has resigned as the company’s chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors to pursue other interests.

Shanda Games’ chairman, Qunzhao Tan, will assume the duties of both chairman of the board and CEO of the company. The company’s nebulous press release did not state if Li’s departure is immediate or will occur after some time.

Li’s departure comes within one month of the company announcing two new acquisitions and a joint venture partnership. Shanda Games plans to buy U.S.-based Mochi Media in a deal worth as much as USD80 million, and at the beginning of the year, the company announced plans to acquire Shanghai-based game developer Goldcool Games. At the end of last year, Shanda Games also inked a deal with Kingsoft Corporation Limited for a joint venture to develop online games in China.

With Li’s departure, it is unclear if the relationships consummated with those target companies will be in jeopardy, and investors may want to delve deeper into any correlation between the sudden purchases and Li’s departure.

Tan is a co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment and became chairman of the board of Shanda Games in May 2009.