Quick Take: Tencent to Invest 3 Billion Yuan in Shanda Game

Social media giant Tencent Holdings plans to invest 3 billion yuan ($474 million) into online game developer Shanda Games in a strategic partnership.

The investment is the last fundraising of Shanda before its planned public offering on the domestic market, sources close to the matter told Caixin.

Shanda was listed on Nasdaq in 2009 in the largest initial public offering that year in the U.S. market. The company delisted from the market in a privatization plan announced in 2014 as it prepared to list domestically. The privatization was completed in November 2015.

Shanda is planning to list on China’s A-share market in the first half this year, according to Wang Jie, chief executive officer of Shanda’s parent Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co.

Shanda was an early leader in China’s online games market, with popular titles such as fantasy role-playing games The World of Legend and Dragon Nest.

A person close to the deal said Tencent is attracted to Shenda’s game development capabilities and intellectual property holdings. The two companies earlier had started partnering in game distribution, the source said.

Tencent in recent years has stepped up its expansion in the global online game market with investments in U.S. game developers Riot Games Inc., Epic Games Inc. and Activision Blizzard Inc. In 2016, Tencent bought the majority of Finland-based “Clash of Clans” mobile game maker Supercell for $8.6 billion.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)