Softbank Corp. (SFTBF)

[mick]

SELLING GAMER ????? MISTAKE ????? I THINK SO/ China's Tencent Wants 'Clash of Clans' Maker Supercell: Report
Tencent already has a leading PC gamemaker and Supercell owner Softbank needs cash.
https://www.thestreet.com/story/13609116/1/china-s-tencent-wants-clash-of-clans-maker-supercell-report.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

China's Tencent Holdings is reportedly close to a deal for Supercell, the Finnish maker of "Clash of Clans", that would cement the Internet company's position atop gamemakers and continue China's run on targets around the world.

Tencent is in talks to buy a majority of Supercell from Japanese mobile phone company Softbank with the help of financial investors including Beijing-based Hillhouse Capital, the Wall Street Journal reported citing unnamed sourced. The approach values Supercell at $9 billion.

Chinese companies generally and Tencent in particular have been spending billions to heed a call from president Xi Jinping to bolster the country's slowing economy with purchases abroad. Earlier this week China's Xiwang Foodstuffs agreed to buy Canadian supplement company Iovate Health Sciences International for $700 million and Tencent in 2011 bought control of Los Angeles PC gamemaker Riot Games for about $230 million.

The Supercell agreement carries a number of stipulations and may not close, the Journal reported. Any buyer would have to guarantee control of the company would remain in the hands of its six founders. Buyers would also be prohibited from listing the company or making significant management changes.

Financing is also reportedly an issue.

Neither Tencent nor Softbank could immediately be reached for comment.

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Supercell leapt into the forefront after its founding in 2010 by exploiting explosive interest in smartphones with games such as "Clash of Clans" and the farming simulator "Hay Day". The company's newest game, "Clash Royale", topped gaming charts for Apple (AAPL) devices in March in the U.S, Germany and Brazil and brought in $80 million, according to game research company Newzoo.

The success of its games has made Supercell very lucrative. The company had net profit €693 million last year on revenue of €2.11 billion.

Softbank likely wants to sell the company as part of its efforts to lessen its $80 billion debt pile, about a third of which is left over from its 2013 acquisition of U.S. cellular company Sprint (S) for $21.6 billion.

It's also arranged a deal to sell its majority stake in game publisher GungHo Online Entertainment to that company. Softbank is also selling an additional $1.1 billion of its stake in Chinese online company Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) , bringing the total size of its Alibaba selldown up to $10 billion.

Softbank held 32.2% of Alibaba's issued and outstanding shares at the end of March, and had previously said that the initial sale of $7.9 billion announced last Wednesday would bring that stake down to 28%.

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