Billionaire owner of Garena sends memo to employees about market moment

The owner of Free Fire has suffered a $150 billion drop in its stock market value since the end of 2021

15 de March de 2022 Ronny Rolim

On March 7, employees of Sea, the company that owns Garena and Free Fire , were starting their week when an email from CEO Forrest Li arrived. In the 900-word memo, the billionaire struck a contrite tone, addressing head-on a $150 billion drop in the value of his company since late 2021.

As of Tuesday (March 15), the stock was trading just above $89 a share in New York, down from a peak of about $367 in November and about $210 at this time last year. In early 2020, it was trading at around $40 a share.

The dizzying loss of market value prompted Free Fire's billionaire boss Forrest Li to reassure his employees in a 900-word memo about the company's position last week.

In it, the 44-year-old businessman, who is considered by some to be shy to the point of secrecy, acknowledged that the fall was painful and that employees may be “ feeling frustrated, discouraged or worried about the future of Sea/Garena ”.

"Have no fear, we are in a strong position internally and we are clear about our next steps. This is a short-term pain that we have to endure to really maximize our long-term potential."

In recent years, with SEA's core business, Free Fire , growing rapidly, the founder has directed his teams primarily to celebrate important milestones. But after a series of extraordinary setbacks this year — including the abrupt ban on Free Fire in India — the company is showing signs of meeting shareholder and employee demands for more openness.

It’s worth remembering that SEA’s share slump accelerated in January when the biggest investor, Tencent , announced it was selling some of its stake, then accelerated with the Indian ban in February, before culminating in horrific quarterly profits this month. In all, Sea lost three quarters of its value in 5 months.