ZitatAlles anzeigenTencent, the giant Chinese Web holding company, has bought Los Angeles-based Riot Games for about $400 million.
It’s yet another big-dollar buyout for the game industry, which has been in an M&A frenzy for about a year, and one of the biggest investments by a Chinese company in an American digital property.
The transaction was first reported by Bloomberg, and Riot confirmed the deal to VentureBeat, though neither outlet has the financial details. Here’s how they break down, according to people familiar with the transaction:
Tencent, which had already invested in the game maker, will pay “just south” of $400 million to buy out other investors, primarily Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital, which along with angels had put approximately $18 million into the company.
The company’s management team will receive some portion of that buyout themselves, but will also retain an equity stake; some will receive “stay packages.”
The total investment values the company at $472 million.
The chief appeal of Tencent is Riot’s League of Legends game, which is free to play but encourages players to pay for extra goodies via micro-transactions. (Thanks to readers who educated me about what you can and can’t buy with real-world money in the game.)
In that sense it’s like Zynga’s FarmVille and other popular social games. But it’s a much more sophisticated game, with arcade-style action: Think of World of Warcraft, on steroids and amphetamines.
The deal follows a string of Web-based game deals in the last year. Among the more notable ones: Walt Disney purchased Playdom, Electronic Arts purchased Playfish and DeNA purchased Ngmoco.
Quelle: http://mediamemo.allthingsd.co…ot-games-for-400-million/
ZitatAlles anzeigenTENCENT HOLDINGS ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN GAME PUBLISHER RIOT GAMES
Submitted by administrator on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 16:00
Riot Games to Operate Independently
Riot Games, Inc., a leading independent developer and publisher of premium online video games, today announced that Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading integrated Internet services provider in China, has acquired a majority stake in the company.
The transaction is expected to close within 30 days, subject to regulatory approvals. Upon closing, Riot Games will retain its independent operations and its existing management team will continue to lead all aspects of the company. Financial terms of the agreement were not released.
Riot Games will maintain its headquarters in Los Angeles, and plans to hire aggressively in 2011 across all of its offices. With the financial backing of Tencent, the company plans to enhance its flagship title “League of Legends," expand into new markets and develop new games.
“This is exciting news for 'League of Legends' players and the existing Riot Games team,” said Brandon Beck, CEO, Riot Games. “Tencent's investment will provide our talented team of designers, developers and community staff with additional resources to focus on innovating around ‘League of Legends’ and launching new projects that push the boundaries in the gaming space.”
“League of Legends” is a free multiplayer online battle-arena game that has received acclaim from critics and players alike. With a community of more than one million active players logging more than half a billion playtime minutes each month, “League of Legends” is one of the industry’s top gaming titles. Tencent licensed the title for the China market in mid-2008, and is planning for its open-beta testing in 2011.
“Tencent is committed to delivering premium quality online games to global gamers and Riot has proven its capability in the development of its flagship title,” said David Wallerstein, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent. “Tencent will provide the Riot team with the support and autonomy to continue to deliver high quality experiences that impress both fans and critics in the global gaming market.”
Tencent was an investor in Riot Games during its previous rounds of financing. Other prior investors included Benchmark Capital and Firstmark Capital.
“The team at Riot has built an incredible company in just a few years,” stated Mitch Lasky, partner at Benchmark Capital, and Riot Games board member. “Tencent’s additional investment validates the disruptive position Riot has created in the online video game market, and provides the company with the resources to press their advantage for years to come.”
About Riot Games
Riot Games is a direct-to-consumer video game developer and publisher of premium, competitive online games. The company was established in 2006 and has quickly become a leading global developer and publisher of premium free-to-play online video games for hardcore gamers, launching their debut title, League of Legends, in October 2009. To date, more than one million gamers play League of Legends and log more than half a billion minutes of playtime each month. For more information, please visit www.riotgames.com.
About Tencent
Tencent aims to enrich the interactive online experience of Internet users in China by providing a comprehensive range of Internet and wireless value-added services. Through its various online platforms, including Instant Messaging QQ, web portal QQ.com, QQ Game portal, multi-media social networking service Qzone and wireless portal, Tencent services the largest online community in China and fulfills the user’s needs for communication, information, entertainment and e-Commerce on the Internet.
Tencent has three main streams of revenues: Internet value-added services, mobile and telecommunications value-added services and online advertising.
Shares of Tencent Holdings Limited are traded on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, under stock code 00700. The Company became one of the 43 constituents of the Hang Seng Index (HSI) on June 10, 2008. For more information, please visit www.tencent.com/ir.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of Tencent Holdings Limited and its group companies. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Tencent and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this announcement. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website.
Press Contacts
Jason Throckmorton or Dana Zemack
(415) 625-8555
[email protected]
Catherine Chan or Jane Yip
(+86) 755 86013388 ext 8369 or 1374
[email protected]
Quelle: http://www.riotgames.com/news/…game-publisher-riot-games
Also: Nach China Tencent soll sich im Spielgeschehen nichts ändern , es soll nur global Bekannter werden. Über das verbleiben der Riot Games Mitarbeiter steht noch nichts genaues fest. Ausserdem wollen sie größeres Server zur verfügung satellen.
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