Tencent to buy British video game studio Sumo for $1.27 billion

In a busy year for gaming mergers, another deal has just been announced. Tencent is to fully acquire Sumo Group, the UK developer behind LittleBigPlanet 3 and Crackdown 3. The Chinese web giant is offering 513 pence per share for the studio, in which it already owns an 8.75 percent stake, valuing it at $1.26 billion (£990 million). The acquisition brings another major developer into the Tencent fold. Already the world's biggest gaming company, Tencent owns League of Legends studio Riot Games, and has a financial stake in several publishers including Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, Bluehole, Paradox Interactive, Supercell, Grinding Gear Games and Yager, along with chat platform Discord. In February, the company acquired a minority position in DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive.