Chinese tech giant Tencent closed 31 games related deals last year, a new record according to a Niko Partners report.
The agreements secured by Tencent included investments, mergers and acquisitions and seed funding participation.
Moreover, the Chinese firm finalised three times more deals last year than it did in 2019 and four times what it secured in 2017.
“Tencent’s approach to M&A can be traditionally characterised as somewhat conservative, investing primarily in firms that have a proven hit or established product or service,” reads the report.
“This year, the company has been more proactive with its investments in the gaming space.”
Deal!
However, the majority of investments were in other Chinese companies – 21 to be exact – but that’s not to say Tencent didn’t capitalise on global opportunities.
Overall, the most expensive deal of the bunch was Tencent’s takeover of Leyou for $1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, companies such as Wizard managed to secure an investment from the tech behemoth. Another noteworthy deal comes in Voodoo’s form, as Tencent backed the French mobile developer and publisher.
Tencent also participated in the Series G funding round for Roblox, in which the games platform raised $150 million.
New approach
According to Niko Partners, the Honor of Kings creator changed its investment policies to keep up with its competitors, namely ByteDance and Alibaba. Though medium-sized companies such as Lilith and MiHoYo have also seen successful investments in the same space as Tencent.
As such, the tech giant began to invest in smaller companies and at a much earlier stage than it previously did.
“Tencent is in no danger of losing its No.1 position in the games market, but it is beginning to feel some pressure as other companies have been able to disrupt its grip on the top ten grossing games chart,” reads the report.
