Tencent wants to take ownership of PUBG

Just a week after it was announced that it would be releasing Fortnite in China, it was reported that Tencent is looking to own a large stake in developer Bluehole, the parent company of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

According to the information, Tencent plans to invest about $ 470 million in Bluehole – this deal will give the Chinese group a total of 10% of the ownership stake in the Korean developer. Meanwhile, Tencent invested in Bluehole with a 1.5% stake in 2017. If this deal happens, Tencent will become the company’s second largest shareholder.

Thanks to the boom of PUBG and the growth of the Battle Royale genre, Bluehole’s stock has skyrocketed since the game’s launch on March 23, 2017. In less than a year, Bluehole has become one of the five highest grossing companies in the Korean gaming industry, according to information from the Korea Daily.

This is not the first time the Chinese tycoon wants to own a large stake in Bluehole. Earlier rumors in 2017 suggested that Tencent was in the process of acquiring a developer. But later, Bluehole said the above information was incorrect.

Bluehole is open to selling off a majority stake in the company to Tencent due to Tencent’s participation in the development of the mobile version of PUBG, according to an anonymous source from the Korea Daily.

If this deal is successful, Tencent will continue to expand to operate popular games in the world when the company already owns a majority stake in Activision Blizzard, as well as Riot and Epic Games.

Source: Korea Herald