China seems to be against Huya and Douyu’s merger plan initiated by Tencent Holding Ltd’s. The country’s antitrust regulator is said to be blocking the merge plan soon.
According to two sources from Reuters, Tencent’s remedies were insufficient to meet the requirements on giving up exclusive rights set by the State Administration of Market Regulation’s (SAMR)
Tencent has recently withdrawn the merger application for antitrust review. The internet giant later refiled the request after SAMR sent out a notice to the company. The notice wrote that SAMR would not be able to complete the review of the merger within 180 days since its first filing, a source said.
The sources from Reuters remained anonymous as the information is private.
As expected, the three companies mentioned in the news, Tencent, Huya and Douyu, also did not respond immediately to Reuters’ requests for comment.
On the other hand, SAMR will approve Tencent’s request to take private search engine Sogou somewhere around this month.
Tencent, Huya and Douyu: the combination of the best game companies in China
Tencent, the top video game and social media company in China, has been commencing with its plan to merge Huya and DouYu since last year.
Huya and Douyu are respectively the first and second most popular video gaming sites in China. Users from both sites are mostly fans of e-sports tournaments and professionals.
Tencent planned to merge Huya and Douyu in a tie-up designed to streamline its stakes in the firms. Data firm MobTech estimated that the tie-up of Huya and Douyu could have an 80% slide of a market worth over $3 billion with fast growth.
Tencent is currently the biggest shareholder for Huya with 36.9%. It also owns more than a third of Douyu. Both firms are listed in The United States with a combined worth reaching $6 billion in market value.
The recent reportage follows the report from Reuters back in March. Previously, sources have told Reuters that Tencent was having to offer concessions in a plan to merge Huya and DouYu in order to resolve antitrust concerns.
Read also: Sweet! Krispy Kreme Notes A Higher Revenue
Follow and join us on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to be part of the trader community in Asia
