As informed sources said today, the Chinese gaming giant Tencent acquired 70 to 80% stake in Czech video game developer Bohemia interactive. The approximate amount of the transaction was 260 million US dollars. These investments follow a number of transactions previously executed by the company in Europe, the purpose of which is to support the foreign gaming business against the background of more stringent regulation applied in China. The PRC government checks all content, including films, books and video games, before it can be released domestically. The reorganization of regulatory bodies has caused serious damage to Tencent’s business.
Another positive development for the company was the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which allowed Tencent to accelerate revenue growth to 31%, which is more than the growth dynamics compared to last year (+ 10%). The Chinese corporation has so far declined to comment.
This January, Tencent became the largest shareholder Funcom and intends buy out a Norwegian company for $ 148 million. In February, the Chinese acquired part of the shares of a German company Yager (Spec Ops: The Line), which is currently working on a shareware first-person shooter The cycle.
Moreover, Tencent previously formalized its largest deal in Europe – in 2016, a Finnish company was acquired for $ 8.6 billion. Supercellengaged in the development of mobile games.
Among the most famous projects Bohemia interactive includes: a series of military simulations Armaopen world survivor Dayz and sandbox Ylands in the style of Minecraft. In its current form, this type of game is not allowed on the Chinese market, as local regulators do not approve of projects that contain blood and violence.
In gaming news, Tencent has acquired a 70% to 80% stake in Bohemia Interactive for $ 260m.
Bohemia are the developers of DayZ, ARMA and Ylands.
I spoke to @waynema at @theinformation about the deal and what it means.https: //t.co/W5q6YDi3PL
– Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 2, 2023
According to a senior analyst at Niko Partners Daniel AhmadTencent is keen to compete with another major Chinese company, NetEase, which has distribution rights for Microsoft’s Minecraft sandboxes in China. According to him, Tencent intends to become a Chinese distributor Ylands and has been negotiating with Czech Bohemia since 2018.
Ahmad also claims that Tencent’s European investment in the gaming industry can stimulate demand for only the company’s emerging cloud services. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the head of Tencent’s cloud business in Europe stated in an interview for the German newspaper Handelsblatt that this year the Chinese holding intends to invest $ 10 billion for this purpose.
According to the corporate brochure, in 2018, more than 400 employees worked at Bohemia. Its offices are located in the Czech Republic, Amsterdam and Thailand. The company said its total revenue from gaming sales last year reached $ 68 million.
Read also: Chinese owners of PS4 “blocked oxygen” – they can no longer buy games from other regions of the world on PSN
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