Tencent, the world’s gaming juggernaut is looking at a billion-dollar acquisition of various U.S-based companies including giants like Take Two Interactive, EA and various other companies. According to a report by TMT Finance spotted by TweakTown, Tencent is currently raising billions to buy out a new gaming company. Insiders believe the Chinese giant is looking to force a hostile takeover of the aforementioned studios.
© Rockstar
To put things into perspective, Take Two Interactive makes games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands 3 amongst several properties that rake in billions in revenue. The other company that is being speculated for a takeover is Electronic Arts (EA) which makes games like FIFA, the Battlefield series and other games from franchises like Star Wars. A potential takeover of either of the two companies could result in beloved franchises under the Tencent Gaming umbrella.
© Electronic Arts
Sources say the most likely scenario sees Tencent buying a South Korean developer at the moment. Some of the companies like NetMarble, Nexon and others. Tencent already is the third biggest shareholder in South Korea’s biggest mobile game maker NetMarble. Tencent is already a majority stakeholder (93%) in major U.S. gaming companies like ‘Riot Games’; who are the makers of games like League of Legends and Valorant. Tencent has also invested in companies like Epic Games (Fortnight & Epic Games Store), Bluehole (PUBG), Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed), Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty, World of Warcraft), and Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile).
© Reuters
Tencent’s investment in and ownership of some of the biggest gaming companies resulted in scrutiny from U.S. National Security last year. The Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. asked the aforementioned companies about their security protocols in handling Americans’ personal data. India also banned games owned and/or developed by Tencent including PUBG Mobile, Arena Of Valor and others due to national security concerns last September.
It is possible that the acquisition of rumoured studios could lead to the ban of popular games like GTA or FIFA in India if it comes to fruition. The acquisition could be bad news for Indian gamers as popular games like GTA or FIFA could get banned by Indian authorities if Tencent games decides to purchase Take Two Interactive or Electronic Arts. It is worth pointing out that this news is pure speculation at the moment, however it is hard to ignore Tencent gobbling up gaming studios aggressively in the past few years.
Tencent has not confirmed the validity of these rumours nor have they delivered a statement on the matter denying it.
Source: TMT Finance via TweakTown
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