“Clash of Clans” may have a new owner soon. Tencent, a Chinese media conglomerate, is reportedly eyeing on Supercell Oy, the developer of the hit strategy game.
There are reports that Tencent Holdings Ltd. is getting close to purchasing the Finland-based company at over $9 billion. An official deal could be announced later in June 2016, which would make Tencent the new owner of “Clash of Clans” and propel the conglomerate to the top ranks in the mobile games market.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Tencent is allegedly in the final phase of discussions with SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese telecommunications company, to purchase the latter’s majority stake in Supercell Oy. SoftBank was previously trying to sell its stake in “Clash of Clans” after being burdened by over $80 billion in net debt.
The Japanese firm has been struggling with its mobile carrier unit in the United States, Sprint Corp., as well. In May 2016, the company stated that it will sell at least $7.9 billion of its shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., to help pay off some of its debts.
Tencent is also said to be talking to several financial investors, including Hillhouse Capital Group, which is based in Beijing, China, to be a co-investor and participate in the purchase. Although the exact amount of the potential deal remains uncertain, insiders stated that the maker of “Clash of Clans” was valued at over $9 billion, which is an increase of over 70 percent compared a year before.
In 2013, SoftBank initially purchased a 51% stake in the gaming company for $1.53 billion. In 2015, SoftBank bought more stakes at an undisclosed amount to own 73% of Supercell. In 2015, Supercell had a value of around $5.25 billion.
GameSpot noted that Supercell, which is based in Helsinki, Finland, was founded in 2010 and launched four game titles. The company has offices in Finland, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and San Francisco. Among the four games, “Clash of Clans” became the biggest hit. The company managed to earn about $779.1 million last year.
If a deal is finalized, it will be Tencent’s biggest transaction to date. In the meantime, the parties are arranging a financing package, as well as dealing with other issues. Any buyer of Supercell also has to agree to terms that provide the founders control over the firm. The agreement may be revealed in a few days.Tencent, Supercell, SoftBank and Hillhouse did not comment on the pending agreement. More updates and details on “Clash of Clans” are expected soon.
