Tencent tightens grip on 'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft

FILE PHOTO: A man rides an electric bike past the Tencent headquarters in Nanshan district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 2, 2022. REUTERS/David Kirton

PARIS (Reuters) -Chinese tech giant Tencent is tightening its grip on Ubisoft in a deal valuing France's biggest video game maker more than 10 billion euros amid a wave of buyouts in the industry.

Ubisoft said in a statement that Tencent will buy a 49.9% stake with 5% voting rights in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the holding company of the Guillemot family who founded Ubisoft in 1986. As part of the deal, the Chinese company has the right to raise its direct stake in Ubisoft to 9.99% from 4.5% currently.