Chinese firm to buy Clash of Clans maker for $8.6b

China’s largest internet firm is leading a team that will buy 84 per cent of Supercell, including shares held by SoftBank Group Corp and current and former employees. The deal values the Finnish gaming house at about $10.2 billion and adds chart-toppers Clash of Clans and Hay Day to a Tencent portfolio that dominates the social media scene in China but made few waves abroad. 

According to a Bloomberg report, Baidu Inc, Tencent and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd have embarked on an acquisition spree, seeking content and technology in their tug-of-war over the world’s largest internet population. The Supercell buy could set in motion a wave of overseas deals as the trio’s ambitions expand beyond a slowing home market – till now, they have focused much of its spending domestically. 

“The repeated success of Supercell makes it a perfect asset in the Tencent empire,” said Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData Research, a New York-based market researcher.