Tencent has brought out their massive checkbook to purchase a controlling stake in Supercell for $8.6 billion dollars. That’s right, the developer behind Clash of Clans has sold a portion of their business for billions of dollars.
The deal sees Tencent, a giant Chinese tech company, own 73% of the company. This places the value of Tencent’s WeChat at a whopping $10.8 billion (according to The Wall Street Journal). WeChat is a massive part of Tencent’s business, an app that allows mobile users to make calls and send texts for free. It may just be a simple acquisition, or maybe it’s possible the WeChat features could find their way into the Clash of Clans interface? Possible, but just speculation at this point.
Supercell is known for its free-to-play mobile games. While Clash may be the most well-known at this point, they have developed other massive hits as well. Clash Royale, Hay Day, and Boom Beach are all created under a similar template and under the same roof.
Tencent on the other hand acquires the Finish developer to add to their list of gaming and tech-based “purchases.” Last year they also bought out Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends. While games like that continue to be developed by original crews, it shows that the Chinese company literally means business when it comes to their purchases.
Supercell shared their thoughts about the move when it was announced, pointing out that the move now allows the massive Clash (and their other games) user-base to expand into China:
We want Supercell to be the world’s best place for creative people to create games…At the same time, this new partnership offers us exciting growth opportunities in China, where we will be able to reach hundreds of millions of new gamers via Tencent’s channels. – Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen
