Under National Security Data Probe, Tencent Negotiates New Agreement with Riot; Epic to Retain Stakes

Tencent’s lifeline on Riot and Epic might just be on a lifeline.

Chinese megacorporation Tencent is said to be undergoing some negotiations with United States officials regarding the company’s wish to retain stakes on major games, League of Legends and Fortnite, following their security data probe.

Sources say that the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment has an ongoing investigation regarding Epic and Riot’s use of US Citizens’ personal data, citing that these may impose risks, especially on national security.

The said committee has the prerogative to handle the case, and demand the Chinese megacorporation to divest from Riot and Epic. Sources say, however, that both companies are under negotiations with Tencent in order to retain its stakes, even if it secedes from other companies.

There’s also a probability that the the United States government may cut ties with Tencent regarding their Riot and Epic investments, reports told. Detailed report regarding the latter however were not disclosed publicly.

At this moment, Epic and Riot have declined to give their comments on the issue. Riot however told that Tencent is a ‘hands off’ owner of the company, a comment Committee on Foreign Investment declined to give their opinions on.

In 2011, Tencent purchased majority of the stakes of Riot, and bought the remaining shares in 2015. The Chinese megacorp is currently the sole owner of Riot, and is also a 40% owner of Epic games.

Tencent is currently being considered the biggest video game company in the world as it also holds considerable shares in other gaming companies such as mobile developer Supercell, and gaming web app site Miniclip. Tencent also has its stakes in Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Krafton, PUBG Corporation’s company.

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