Tencent gains majority control of Supercell

Chinese tech behemoth Tencent has taken majority control over Supercell, after increasing its stake in the consortium which owns a majority stake in the mobile developer.

In 2016, a Luxembourg consortium formed with the purpose of acquiring Supercell. There, it purchased 81.4% of the mobile developer. In a move rumoured to happen last month, Tencent has now increased its stake in the consortium from 50% voting interest to 51.2% effectively gaining control of Supercell.

Previously, Tencent acquired about 84.3% of the firm via the consortium which subsequently opened up to co-investors, but that 1.2% increase of voting interest has changed things substantially in terms of who has control.

It achieved this 1.2% increase by acquiring $40 million worth of shares as part of a convertible bond, according to a filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Supercell is best known for Clash of Clans, as well as Boom Beach and Hay Day. Tencent has its fingers in a vast number of pies being the world’s largest gaming company, as well as one of the world’s largest social media companies. It already owns stakes in Blu Mobile, Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Paradox Interactive.

During Supercell’s last acquisition by the consortium in 2016, the firm was valued at $10.2 billion, with it announced that Supercell will continue operating as an independent entity, albeit one with a phenomenal amount of clout for such a small team 315 employees.

Story by Jennifer Allen.