Funcom have announced that Tencent seeks to fully own the company, with Tencent’s CEO Rui Casais “excited about this opportunity.”
Tencent have offered a “voluntary cash offer” to acquire all shares in Funcom. Currently Tencent owns 29% of Funcom, after a “major investment” on January 7th.
Tencent CEO Rui Casais statement from the press release seems to indicate he is keen on the offer.
“We have had a great relationship with Tencent as our largest shareholder so far and we are excited about this opportunity. We will continue to develop great games that people all over the world will play, and we believe that the support of Tencent will take Funcom to the next level. Tencent will provide Funcom with operational leverage and insights from its vast knowledge as the leading company in the game space.”
Funcom shareholders can accept or reject the offer during the offer period, beginning in February. Funcom’s management and supervisory boards have “unanimously” recommended shareholders accept the offer.
Tencent Senior Vice President Steven Ma had high praise for Funcom in return. “We are impressed by Funcom’s strengths as a developer of open-world multiplayer, action and survival games. Funcom has a strong track-record in developing new titles with long life span. We are glad to deepen our relationship with Funcom and look forward to collaborating with Funcom to deliver more exciting and enjoyable game experiences to fans worldwide.”
As of October, 2019 Tencent has 100% ownership of Riot Games, 80% of Grinding Gear Games, 40% in Epic Games, 5% in Activision Blizzard, 5% in Ubisoft, 5% in Paradox Interactive, and others. As of this time of writing, Tencent are doing better now then they did at the same time last year, with stock value increasing from 331 HKD (est. $42,58 USD) to 385 HKD (est. $49.53 USD).
The company’s all time peak (474 KHD, est. $60.98 USD on January 23, 2020) was devastated by the Chinese government recommending fewer game approvals, causing them to lose $20 billion USD in stock value.
With China implementing more restrictions on gaming (most recently restricting how much time minors can spend playing games), Tencent may be seeking to branch out of China.
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Image: Conan Exiles (via Steam)
