Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to purchase an 84.3 percent stake in Clash of Clans creator Supercell for $8.6 billion.
Chinese internet giant Tencent has agreed to purchase an 84.3 percent stake in Clash of Clans creator Supercell for $8.6 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Tencent will buy that majority stake from Japanese mobile outfit SoftBank and some of the Finnish studio's employees.
The deal sees Supercell valued at $10.2 billion -- $1.2 billion more than previous reports indicated -- and is expected to be completed in stages as Tencent is still talking to co-investors who could jump in.
Both companies told the WSJ that the deal, subject to approval, should go through in Q3 2016, with SoftBank confirming it will sell its entire 73.2 percent stake in Supercell to Tencent.
The telecoms company initially paid $1.5 billion to pick up a majority stake in the Clash Royale developer in October 2014, before buying more shares for an undisclosed fee in 2015.
Once the deal goes through, Supercell will join Tencent’s already impressive roster of subsidiaries, which includes League of Legends creator, Riot, and mobile messaging app, WeChat -- effectively turning the company into one of the mobile industry's biggest players overnight.
As for the future of Supercell, Tencent has assured studio bosses that it will retain its operational independence.
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