When Chinese internet giant, Tencent, revealed that it has bought a “minority stake” in Epic Games last year, the exact amount was not disclosed. Epic Games is the studio which brought us the Unreal Engine series, as well as games such as Gears of War.
In Tencent’s latest financial report for the year ended December 31st, 2012, the numbers were revealed, as seen in the excerpt below:
In July 2012, the Group acquired certain equity shares of Epic Games, representing approximately 48.4% of its then issued share capital, for a cash consideration of USD330,000,000 (equivalent to approximately RMB2,087,217,000).
Epic Games is a US incorporated company principally engaged in developing game engine technology, as well as game titles for PC, consoles and mobile devices. Since the Group has the right to nominate directors to the board of Epic Games, Epic Games is accounted for as an associate of the Group.
Tencent currently owns Riot Games as well, the developer of the hit MOBA title, League of Legends. The deal was announced back in 2011, and it was worth around USD 400 million. Tencent’s 2012 revenue also saw an increase by 54% compared to 2011.
