TCEHY Tencent Holdings Ltd (PK)

    By Dominic Chopping 
 

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) will buy 29% in Norwegian video-game developer Funcom NV (FUNCOM.OS), the Nordic company said Monday.

The deal will involve Tencent acquiring all shares belonging to Norway-based KGJ Capital AS, which is currently the largest shareholder in Funcom.

Financial details weren't disclosed.

Funcom specializes in online games and has launched multiplayer role-playing titles such as "Anarchy Online," "Age of Conan," "The Secret World," and most recently "Conan Exiles."

Earlier this year it acquired the exclusive rights to develop and publish PC and console games based on Frank Herbert's "Dune" science-fiction works for the next six years. A new "Dune" feature film is scheduled for release in December 2020.

"Tencent has a reputation for being a responsible long-term investor, and for its renowned operational capabilities in online games," Funcom Chief Executive Rui Casais said.

"The insight, experience, and knowledge that Tencent will bring is of great value to us and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to develop great games and build a successful future for Funcom."

At 0738 GMT, shares in Funcom were up 21%.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2019 03:55 ET (07:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.