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Tencent makes initial offer to fully acquire Funcom

All shareholders have the option to accept or reject the offer

Tencent makes initial offer to fully acquire Funcom

Chinese tech giant Tencent has offered a cash sum to fully acquire Norwegian developer Funcom.

Currently, Tencent owns a 29 per cent stake in the company. Due to the Conan Exiles developer being a public trading company on Oslo's stock exchange, the Chinese firm will offer 17.00 Kr ($1.89) per share. The offered amount is 27.3 per cent higher than Funcom shares closing price on January 21st.

While the offer period is expected to begin next month, both Funcom's management board and supervisory board have recommended that shareholders accept the offer. However, they can reject the offer if they so choose.

"We are impressed by Funcom's strengths as a developer of open-world multiplayer, action and survival games. Funcom has a strong track record in developing new titles with a long lifespan," said Tencent senior vice president Steven Ma.

"We are glad to deepen our relationship with Funcom and look forward to collaborating with Funcom to deliver more exciting and enjoyable game experiences to fans worldwide."

Don't fix what isn't broken

Should the intended acquisition go through, Tencent has no plans to change the management team behind Funcom. Nor will it make adjustments to its staff and structure.

“We have had a great relationship with Tencent as our largest shareholder so far and we are excited about this opportunity," said Funcom CEO Rui Casais.

“We will continue to develop great games that people all over the world will play, and we believe that the support of Tencent will take Funcom to the next level. Tencent will provide Funcom with operational leverage and insights from its vast knowledge as the leading company in the game space."

While mainly focused on PC and console games, Funcom did make a mobile title in 2015 called Lego Minifigures Online, which our sibling site Pocket Gamer called "genuinely entertaining" upon release. The game was eventually shuttered around a year after launch.

Earlier this month, Tencent invested an undisclosed sum in PlatinumGames - best known for console games such as Bayonetta, though it is currently developing a mobile titled called Lost Order.


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Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.