Tencent, one of China’s leading tech companies, recently announced closing its online game streaming site in response to Beijing blocking its merger plan with rival streaming sites. The move highlights the increasingly stringent regulation of the internet gaming industry in the country and raises questions about how the tech giant will respond going forward.
Tencent is one of China’s leading digital entertainment providers. Over the last five years, it has expanded its presence in online game streaming by merging with other local players,such as Douyou and Longzhu. As part of these moves, Tencent sought to complete a $6 billion deal to acquire Longzhu’s 90% shareholding earlier this year to create an even larger gaming empire. However, Beijing regulators blocked this move on anti-monopoly grounds and ordered Tencent to dissolve the proposed merger while strengthening existing regulations against concentrating power within conglomerates like Tencent’s. In response to this ruling, Tencent had no choice but to close down its game streaming service on March 14th.
Background
On April 23rd 2021, Chinese tech giant Tencent shut down its game streaming site in response to Beijing blocking its merger plans with other game streaming services. The blocked merger would have made Tencent the country’s largest streaming gaming platform.
This decision by Beijing has caused a ripple effect in the tech industry and has resulted in the closure of Tencent’s popular game streaming service.
Let’s take a look at the background of this story.
Merger of Douyu and Huya
On April 30th, 2020, Chinese technology giant Tencent announced it was closing streaming website Panda TV after Beijing blocked the proposed merger between two of its major competitors—Douyu and Huya. The decision came following the Chinese State Administration of Market Regulation’s (SAMR) announcement that it would reject the proposed $6 billion merger in February.
The proposed merger, first announced in August 2019, received significant government attention from domestic and foreign regulatory bodies. However, after reviewing different aspects of the merger and its potential effects, SAMR and China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that the transaction needed to be terminated for public interest reasons leading to anti-competition and support for innovation.
The merger between Douyu and Huya would have created a powerful duopoly in game streaming covering over ninety percent of Chinese game live streaming market. It is argued that this would reduce competition in pricing policies and product innovation between these bitter rivals, who had thus far managed to compete through these areas independently.
By blocking this attempted monopoly, SAMR sends a clear signal that it will not tolerate monopolistic behavior within some key industries, such as game streaming services as they are seen as essential areas given their fast-developing importance within the tech storytelling industry in China. With this decision, Chinese entrepreneurs can be reassured that there is still space for competitive behavior with big players such as Tencent being watched closely by authorities.
Tencent’s involvement in the merger
Tencent, one of the largest internet conglomerates in China, agreed to merge its online game streaming platform with its subsidiary Huya in mid-July 2020. This merger was intended to create an even larger presence for the Tencent Companies in China’s gaming industry. However, the merger was halted by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on August 14th due to concerns it could lead to unfair competition.
Tencent owns both companies – Huya and HUYA Live – and had planned to move all of Huya’s assets over to HUYA Live before closing down the former site. The assets included massive user data, music content, and streaming media technology equipment. After Beijing blocked the proposed restructuring plans on grounds of antitrust regulations, Tencent shut down its game streaming platform with immediate effect on October 7th 2020.
Beijing’s Response
In response to Tencent’s failed attempt to merge with another Chinese streaming company, Beijing has blocked their merger and shut down the Tencent game streaming site. Since then, many have wondered what other implications this will have.
This article will explore Beijing’s response to the situation in detail.
Reasons for blocking the merger
The Chinese government blocked the merger of Arena of Valor parent Tencent Holdings and game streaming platform DouYu International, preventing the companies from forming a $6 billion combined entity. This block was imposed as part of Beijing’s new restrictions to regulate China’s rapidly growing esports industry.
There are a few reasons why this merger was blocked. One is that the Chinese authorities sought to control the rapidly expanding esports sector which has grown substantially since 2018 due to increased investment activity by tech giants such as Tencent. The government is concerned that foreign companies are gaining too much influence in the market and wants to ensure that local players such as Douyu continue to dominate.
Another reason for blocking the Tencent-Douyu merger was due to worries that the scale of a combined company would make it difficult for any single player within the market to challenge it, leading to an unhealthy level of monopoly control within China’s gaming industry. As a result, regulators were looking for ways to promote competition and growth within this sector to ensure its long term health, making it essential to block this merger deal before it could take effect.
Impact of the decision
Tencent’s decision to close the streaming site, dubbed China’s Twitch, will have far-reaching impacts for the company and its shareholders. The merger had been approved by most stockholders of both companies and was poised to become one of Tencent’s most lucrative investments. However, Beijing’s merger blocking has drastically altered Tencent’s plans.
In addition to losing potential revenues from the acquisition, Tencent may now struggle to gain regulatory approval for similar ventures. This could have a significant financial impact on the company and its employees. Beijing has also weakened Tencent’s competitive position in China compared to rival tech companies such as Alibaba Group and Baidu Inc., both of which have seen their businesses strengthened through friendly regulatory enforcement and corporate acquisitions over the past few years.
The move by Beijing also has implications beyond simply economics. By blocking this merger, it has demonstrated that it can use its power to intervene in some aspects of Chinese business life even if this runs counter to market forces and international norms for capital flow, monopolies, control, or other forms of administrative intervention such as subjecting mergers to restrictions, monitoring securities, and enforcing rules. This could potentially open up new paths for state intervention that could result in further restrictions on investment activities in China going forward.
Tencent’s Response
After Beijing blocked Tencent’s proposed merger with another Chinese gaming company, Tencent has taken a proactive approach to comply with the government’s regulation and has announced the closure of their game streaming site. However, Tencent will work with the Chinese authorities to ensure compliance.
This article will explore Tencent’s response to the zoning and the future for the company.
Closure of the streaming site
Tencent, one of China’s largest tech companies, has closed one of its game streaming sites after Beijing blocked the merger which would have created a new joint venture. The closure is part of Tencent’s efforts to comply with China’s antitrust regulations.
The streaming site, called Pinguo Wangyun was shut down on April 10.
Tencent said the closure was due to “the recent implementation of Chinese regulators’ rulings and actions concerning mergers and acquisitions and merger control in the internet gaming industry”. The website served as an aggregation platform for hundreds of popular mobile games, allowing users to watch live streams of their favourite games.
Tencent had planned to merge Pinguo Wangyun with MI Interactive Entertainment Technology to create a new joint venture. Still, authorities blocked the merger after it failed to meet the requirements for multinational companies seeking to merge with domestic firms in China. In response, Tencent decided to close its streaming site rather than create a new company within its boundaries.
The closure reflects Tencent’s growing attention towards regulatory compliance amid concerns about monopoly positions and unfair competition in China’s online gaming services market. Although this decision may change how people access video game content, it implies that Tencent is willing to make business adjustments should regulations change or become more stringent.
Impact on the streaming industry
Tencent’s response to Beijing’s block of its merger attempt has caused ripples throughout the gaming and streaming industry. The company hoped to merge with its rival China Audio, Video and Broadcast Media Group, but the Chinese government blocked it citing monopoly concerns.
Tencent quickly responded by closing down their game streaming site, GoinTV. This move has significantly impacted both game streaming services and game studios in China. It has also warned other companies in the industry that mergers should be closely monitored by the authorities, with potential regulatory hurdles if they are deemed potentially anti-competitive.
Game streaming services are now more aware than ever of the risks associated with rapid expansion that could lead to implementing anti-competitive practices or making decisions that could be deemed monopolistic by regulators. On top of this Tencent is now under scrutiny from other gaming companies and regulators, with additional regulations likely to also come into effect in response.
Overall, Tencent’s closure of GoinTV has greatly impacted the gaming and streaming industry both in China and abroad. As a result, companies are now more aware of regulation concerns, likely leading to increased caution about mergers and acquisitions going forward. Additionally stricter regulations may further limit potential monopolistic behavior within the industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Tencent has closed its game streaming site after Beijing blocked its merger with Huya Inc. The two Chinese companies were in the process of exchanging shares and raising money for a potential merger. Still, it has been indefinitely put on hold due to the Chinese government’s unwillingness to approve the deal. This has caused Tencent to strategically close their game streaming site instead of trying to continue running it in a diminished capacity.
There are still no signs of when or if the merger will go through, and only time will tell if Tencent will find a way around the roadblocks set up by Beijing.
tags = tencent penguin esports china huya douyuhuangbloomberg, tencent penguin esports tencentled huya douyuhuangbloomberg, penguin esports tencentled huya douyuhuangbloomberg, tencent penguin esports china douyuhuangbloomberg, penguin esports china huya douyuhuangbloomberg, tencent penguin esports tencentled douyuhuangbloomberg
