Report: Tencent rethinks M&A strategy to focus on majority investments in overseas game companies

gamedeveloper.com:

Tencent has tweaked its M&A strategy to place a greater emphasis on purchasing majority stakes in video game companies located outside of China.

That's according to a report from Reuters, which claims to have spoken with people with direct knowledge of Tencent's plans.

Those anonymous sources said the Chinese company now wants to offset waning growth on home soil by more heavily investing in overseas game businesses.

They added that Tencent is specifically interested in taking majority and controlling stakes in companies based in Europe.

Anybody who's been keeping tabs on Tencent's recent spending won't be surprised by those claims, with the company having broadened its horizons as regulators in China seek to impose restrictions on spending and playtime in video games.

Still, it's interesting to hear sources close to Tencent claim the company has indeed refocused its M&A strategy in the wake of that regulatory crackdown.

One source said that while video game companies remain Tencent's primary target, the company is also interested in purchasing metaverse assets.

Addressing the report in a comment handed to Retuers, Tencent said it began investing abroad "long before" new regulations were rolled out in China, and that it's always looking for "innovative companies with talented management teams."

That said, there seems to be a clear trend when glancing at Tencent's latest investments, with the company having invested in studios and companies based in Slovenia, Spain, and Japan. Notably, Tencent also recently grabbed a $300 million stake in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the core shareholder of French publisher Ubisoft.