BEIJING: China’s financial regulator has blocked a merger of the nation’s two largest video game live-streaming sites planned by tech giant Tencent over antitrust concerns, it said Saturday.
Analysts have estimated the planned merger of live-streaming services Huya and Douyu could have brought the combined platforms’ domestic market share to between 80% to 90%. “This has the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, is not conducive to fair market competition … and is not conducive to the healthy and sustainable development of the online gaming and video game live-streaming market.”
Plans for the deal were initially announced by Tencent last October, but SAYMR said it would undertake an antitrust review into the merger in December.