Tencent, the Chinese social gaming company, invested $300 million in Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies, the firm best known for helping Facebook and Zynga stave off initial public offerings through its capital infusions.
Talk about a role reversal. We’re used to seeing the Russian firm, run by Yuri Milner, grab pieces of American companies. This time it looks like a Chinese company has turned around and grabbed a piece of DST instead. Tencent grabs a 10.26 percent stake in the company and will get about 0.51 percent of the firm’s total voting power. It will also have the right to nominate one observer to the DST Board.
Through Tencent’s investment, DST can break into China’s blossoming consumer technology scene. In return, Tencent, which is valued at HK$296 billion ($38 billion), will broaden its holdings internationally and indirectly gain a stake in Facebook and Zynga.
“This investment is a vote of confidence in DST from the market leader in China and one of the world’s most successful and dynamic Internet companies overall,” Milner said in a statement. “We look forward to working together with Tencentand benefiting from their expertise as we both push forward with our plans to capitalize on this immense growth in our markets.”
DST is well-known as a late stage investor that has bought pieces of Silicon Valley’s most-talked about companies. It invested $180 million in Zynga in December, allowing the social gaming to grow without going public and letting some of its employees cash out. It played a similar role for Facebook, investing $200 million directly and buying $100 million from employees.
Companies: Digital Sky Technologies, Tencent
People: Yuri Milner
mandag 12. april 2010
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