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Home » Tencent Holdings »


|| Chinese investors acquired stake in Supercell for $8.6 billion

tencent gameTencent Holdings, a Chinese investment holding company, has acquired 84% of Supercell Supercell, a mobile game development company, in a transaction valuing the company at an equity value of approximately $10.2 billion.

Founded in 2010, Supercell is a mobile game developer based in Helsinki, Finland, with offices in San Francisco, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. Its games are played by more than 100 million people every day. Founded in Shenzhen in 1998, Tencent Holdings operates and invests in internet companies all over the world.

To see a list of investors from China similar to Tencent Holdings, check the Chinese Investors Directory.

More details follows

Supercell Oy ("Supercell" or "the Company"), SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) (TSE: 9984) and certain of its subsidiaries ("SoftBank"), and Tencent Holdings Limited (SEHK: 00700) ("Tencent") today announced the signing of a definitive agreement pursuant to which a consortium established by Tencent (the "Consortium") will acquire up to 84% of Supercell in a transaction valuing the Company at an equity value of approximately USD 10.2 billion1 (approximately JPY 1.1 trillion2).

Following the transaction, Supercell will be owned by the Consortium and by Supercell's employees. Supercell will retain its independent operations, the headquarters will remain in Helsinki, Finland and its existing team will continue to run all operations of the Company. To focus on continued success, every employee is already an equity holder in Supercell and the partnership with Tencent will significantly enhance this commitment. Every employee will take part in a new long-term incentive plan, and will be able to sell their vested shares annually to Tencent.

The transaction, which is currently expected to close during the third calendar quarter of 2016, is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. SoftBank will no longer own any shares in Supercell following closing.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said: "We have enjoyed an outstanding relationship with Ilkka and the Supercell team, and it has been our privilege to be part of Supercell's incredible growth story. Over the life of our investment, Supercell has operated as an independent company, and its unique culture of independent teams has proven itself repeatedly. I have great respect for Tencent and its leadership in games, and believe that with its commitment to respect Supercell's independence, Tencent represents the ideal partner to take Supercell's business to the next level. Our decision to divest our shares is driven by our continued focus on monetization for the benefit of our shareholders and on capital structureipline, both key pillars of our SoftBank 2.0 strategy."

Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell, said: "Today is about chasing a future for Supercell that we have always dreamed of. We founded Supercell to make great games that people all over the world would play for decades and become part of the rich history of games. We've made excellent progress - over the past six years, we've created four top games that are now played by over 100 million people every single day. Tencent's investment secures what has made all of this possible, which is our independence and unique culture of small and independent teams. We want Supercell to be the world's best place for creative people to create games. At the same time, this new partnership offers us exciting growth opportunities in China, where we will be able to reach hundreds of millions of new gamers via Tencent's channels." Read more thoughts from Ilkka on the transaction: http://supercell.com/en/nextchapter/.

Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said: "Supercell is known for its creativity, focus on player experience, and unique culture, which have enabled it to create innovative mobile games that are wildly popular globally. Tencent is dedicated to building long-term strategic partnerships with leading game companies. We are excited that Supercell is joining our global network of game partners, and will preserve their
1 Estimate at closing as of signing date of June 21, 2016. 2 Based on USD / JPY exchange rate as of June 20, 2016.

independence and enhance their advantages, thus bringing even more exciting gaming experiences to players around the world. It is important to us that Supercell stays true to its roots by sustaining its unique culture, continuing to be headquartered in Finland, and representing its home proudly."

As of the signing of the definitive agreement, Tencent holds all outstanding interests in the Consortium. Following the closing, Tencent currently expects to maintain a voting interest of 50% in the Consortium, such that in accordance with the provisions of the relevant International Accounting Standards, Tencent will account for dividend or distribution of profit, if any, from the Consortium as dividend income in its income statement. As such, Tencent will not consolidate or equity-account for its investment in the Consortium. This structure will give existing Supercell management maximum independence in order to incentivize and drive future performance, while enabling Supercell to access all of Tencent's expertise and user base. In parallel to the transaction, Tencent and Supercell have entered into marketing and publishing arrangements regarding the distribution of games developed by Supercell in China.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc served as financial advisor and Fenwick & West LLP and White & Case LLP as legal advisors to Supercell. The Raine Group LLC served as financial advisor and Morrison & Foerster LLP and Hannes Snellman as legal advisors to SoftBank. BofA Merrill Lynch served as financial advisor and Covington & Burling LLP and Slaughter and May as legal advisors to Tencent.

(c) press release



Previous Post: Chinese investors acquired stake in soccer rights agency for around $1 billion
Next Post: Chinese firm invested $15 million in European augmented reality firm Lumus

More from Tencent Holdings ...


  Chinese firm invests $100 million in New Zealand gaming company (October 2018)

  Chinese investors acquired stake in Supercell for $8.6 billion (July 2016)

  Three Chinese investment firms invested $35 million in Silicon Valley firm Scanadu (May 2015)





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