GUANGZHOU and WUHAN, China: Chinese live streaming platforms HUYA Inc. and DouYu International Holdings Limited have announced a merger agreement that entails Huya acquiring all the outstanding shares of DouYu, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares, through a stock-for-stock merger.
The merged entity would create a $11 billion behemoth and have a combined market share of more than 80% in the country, according to data from MobTech.
Tencent, which is Huya’s biggest shareholder and also owns over a third of DouYu, had been pushing for the deal for months, Reuters reported in August.
Tencent will integrate its game live streaming business under its “Penguin” arm with the combined businesses of Huya and DouYu after the merger for a total consideration of $500 million.
The merger, which is expected to close during the first half of 2021, will result in DouYu becoming a privately-held and wholly owned subsidiary of Huya and DouYu ADSs will no longer be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.
Rongjie Dong, the current chief executive officer of Huya, and Shaojie Chen, the current chief executive officer of DouYu, will be co-CEOs of the combined company.
