Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has agreed to buy British video game company Sumo Group for $1.27 billion.
Sumo’s shareholders will get $7.08 in cash per share, Tencent said. The offer is a 43% premium to the Sumo’s last closing price of $4.94. The share has risen multiple times since Sumo went public on the London Stock Exchange AIM market in 2017. It’s one more sign of an acceleration of deals in the game industry. The first half of 2021 saw $60 billion worth of investments, acquisitions, and public offerings in the game industry, according to Drake Star Partners.
Tencent had an 8.75% stake, and it is the second-biggest stakeholder in the company, which has 14 studios in five countries with more than 1,200 employees. The acquisition will have echoes in the U.S., as Sumo Digital owns Oregon-based Pipeworks, maker of Rival Peak. Pipeworks just opened a studio called Timbre Games in Vancouver.
“The board of Sumo firmly believes the business will benefit from Tencent’s broad video gaming ecosystem, proven industry expertise and its strategic resources,” said Ian Livingstone, the chairman of Sumo, in a statement.