HONG KONG, CHINA: On Saturday (July 10), China’s market regulator announced that Tencent Holdings’ intention to integrate Huya and DouYu, the country’s top two video game streaming services, will be blocked due to antitrust concerns. Last year, Tencent revealed plans to merge Huya and DouYu in a deal aimed at streamlining its shares in the companies, which were estimated by analytics firm MobTech to have an 80% share of a market worth more than US$3 billion and rising fast.
Tencent controls 36.9% of Huya and nearly a third of DouYu, both of which are publicly traded in the United States and are worth a combined US$5.3 billion in market capitalization.
The decision was issued after the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) reviewed additional concessions suggested by Tencent for the merger.
According to SAMR’s notification, Tencent filed for an antitrust review of the deal in January.
According to SAMR, Huya and DouYu would have a combined market share of more than 70% in the video game live streaming business, and their merger would reinforce Tencent’s dominance in this market, since Tencent already has more than 40% market share in the online games operations area.
Users come to watch e-sports competitions and follow professional players on Huya and DouYu, China’s most popular video game streaming sites, which are ranked #1 and second, respectively.
SAMR’s decision to block the sale was originally reported by Reuters on Monday.
Requests for comment on the SAMR judgment were not immediately returned by Tencent, Huya, or DouYu./n
