Gaming conglomerate Tencent has said it wants to buy all shares of Funcom, and apparently Funcom is interested in the offer.
The two big names in gaming are deep in a monetary courtship. The Chinese gaming empire is intertwined with many western gaming companies already, from Epic Games to Blizzard. Funcom is interested and supports the offer but hasn’t officially accepted yet.
First reported by Polygon, Tencent offered to buy all previously unowned shares of Funcom, offering 27 percent more than the closing value of the company from 2019. According to the press release from Funcom, Tencent made the offer through an “indirectly owned subsidiary.” The two main management boards of Funcom “unanimously decided to recommend Funcom’s shareholders to accept the offer.” Since the company is owned by multiple shareholders, Tencent is looking to buy the gaming company from those shareholders, leaving them with the final decision in the matter.
Funcom is based in the Netherlands and has published “around 30 game titles across several genres.” Fans may recognize the developer from the Conan games, including Conan Exiles, a popular survival game on Steam. The offer from Tencent could be valuable for existing and planned games from the company.
The press release goes on to add that if Funcom were to take the offer, the company would remain independent but would be allowed more funding for their projects. Employees would also keep their current positions.
Funcom hasn’t yet accepted the deal. At this stage, Tencent is proposing an offer, and the companies have entered into a “Transaction Agreement.” Tencent will make a cash offer that Funcom will likely take, if the unanimous support from the board members is any indication.
