Tencent to buy Finnish gaming firm Supercell from SoftBank, others in $8.6 billion deal

[June 21, 2016]  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's biggest gaming and social network company Tencent Holdings said on Tuesday it will buy most of Finnish mobile gaming firm Supercell from SoftBank Group Corp and other shareholders in a deal valued at roughly $8.6 billion.

Tencent comany name is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

Tencent will, over three installments, acquire about 84.3 percent of Supercell via a wholly owned consortium, including all of SoftBank's 72.2 percent stake, the Chinese company said.

That consortium will then be open to unidentified co-investors, though Tencent expects to maintain a 50 percent voting interest, the firm said.

Supercell's current management will keep their operational independence and the company will remain in Finland, Tencent's statement said.

(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Additional reporting by Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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