TenCent purchases 40% stake in Epic Games, fronts two board members

Tencent's most recent financial report gives details of the Chinese company's June acquisition of a stake in Epic Games, and the appointment of two of its representatives to the Epic board of directors.

TenCent dropped about $330 million on Epic Games shares, which is 48.4% of the company's "outstanding shares," Mark Rein told VG247. "This equates to 40% of total Epic capital inclusive of both stock and employee options," he added.

The acquisition gives TenCent the right to make appointments to Epic's board of directors, something it has taken advantage of.

"As part of the investment, two Tencent representatives joined Epic's board of directors, in addition to the three directors and two observers appointed by Epic," Tim Sweeney told Polygon.

"We're thrilled to have a world-leading partner in Tencent, who gives Epic unique access to the Chinese market as we head into the next chapter of our 21-year history as a leading independent developer."

TenCent also owns Riot Games, and was previously partnered with Red 5 to publish Firefall, besides its substantial Chinese gaming interests.

Epic's most recent production was Gears of War: Judgment, co-developed with People Can Fly. It is currently working on Fortnite, and probably other, secret things.

Thanks, Joystiq.