Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has bought UK-based video game company Sumo Group for a whopping $1.3 billion, news agency Reuters reported. This is latest in the series of investments made by Tencent, who in recent years have invested in or taken ownership of other gaming companies like: Riot Games (Tencent owns a 100% share), Epic Games (40%), Dontnod (23%), Activision Blizzard (5%), Ubisoft (5%), Paradox (5%)
Sumo’s shareholders will get 513 pence in cash per share, Tencent said. The offer is at 43% premium to the Sumo’s last closing price of 358 pence. The share has risen multifold since its listing on LSE’s junior market AIM in 2017 at 100 pence. The share has risen multifold since its listing on LSE’s junior market AIM in 2017 at 100 pence. Tencent had an 8.75% stake and it is the second-biggest stakeholder in the company, which has 14 studios in five countries with more than 1,200 employees.
“The Board of Sumo firmly believes the business will benefit from Tencent’s broad videogaming eco-system, proven industry expertise and its strategic resources,” Reuters quoted Sumo’s non-executive chairman Ian Livingstone as saying.
