基于战略动因腾讯并购Supercell绩效评价案例研究

基于战略动因腾讯并购Supercell绩效评价案例研究摘要：

随着中国互联网企业的全球化趋势，腾讯作为中国互联网领域的龙头企业，也开始寻找全球化的战略机会。2016年，腾讯以84亿美元的价格收购了芬兰游戏公司Supercell，这也是迄今为止中国企业对外并购的最大交易之一。本文运用战略动因理论和绩效评价方法，对腾讯并购Supercell的战略动因和绩效进行了深入分析。

本文首先介绍了战略动因理论和绩效评价方法的相关理论知识，然后分析了腾讯并购Supercell的具体情况和背景，并分析了并购决策的战略动因。接着，本文从财务和非财务绩效两个方面，对并购后的绩效进行了评价，并得出了结论：通过收购Supercell，腾讯成功进入了全球游戏市场，实现了战略转型，同时也取得了巨大的商业回报。

关键词：战略动因；绩效评价；并购；腾讯；Supercell

Abstract:

WiththeglobalizationtrendofChineseInternetcompanies,Tencent,asaleadingcompanyintheChineseInternetindustry,hasalsobeguntoseekstrategicopportunitiesforglobalization.In2016,TencentacquiredtheFinnishgamecompanySupercellfor$8.4billion,whichisoneofthelargestoverseasacquisitionsbyChinesecompaniestodate.ThispaperusesthestrategiccausalitytheoryandperformanceevaluationmethodtoanalyzethestrategiccausesandperformanceofTencent'sacquisitionofSupercell.

Thispaperfirstintroducestherelevanttheoreticalknowledgeofstrategiccausalitytheoryandperformanceevaluationmethod,andthenanalyzesthespecificsituationandbackgroundofTencent'sacquisitionofSupercell,andanalyzesthestrategiccausesoftheacquisitiondecision.Then,thispaperevaluatestheperformanceoftheacquisitionfromtwoaspects:financialandnon-financialperformance,anddrawsconclusions:ThroughtheacquisitionofSupercell,Tencentsuccessfullyenteredtheglobalgamemarket,realizedstrategictransformation,andalsoachievedhugecommercialreturns.

Keywords:strategiccausality;performanceevaluation;acquisition;Tencent;SupercellIntroduction

AsoneoftheleadingChinesetechnologycompanies,Tencenthasbeenactiveinthefieldofonlinegamesformanyyears.However,itsinfluencewasmainlylimitedtothedomesticmarket,anditfacedchallengesinexpandingitsbusinessglobally.Inthiscontext,TencentannouncedtheacquisitionofSupercell,aFinnishmobilegamedeveloper,inJune2016.ThisacquisitionwasthelargestforeignacquisitioninTencent'shistory,valuedat$8.6billion.Thispaperanalyzesthestrategiccausesoftheacquisitiondecisionandevaluatesitsperformancefromfinancialandnon-financialaspects.

StrategicCausesoftheAcquisitionDecision

TheacquisitionofSupercellwasastrategicmoveforTencenttoentertheglobalgamemarketandachievestrategictransformation.Firstly,SupercellisaleadingmobilegamedeveloperwithsuccessfultitlessuchasClashofClansandClashRoyale,whicharepopularglobally.Withitsstronggamedevelopmentcapability,SupercellcanprovideTencentwithvaluableresourcesandexpertiseingamedevelopment,especiallyformobiledevices,whichisthemainplatformforonlinegamesintheglobalmarket.ByacquiringSupercell,Tencentcanleverageitsstrongpositioninthedomesticmarketandexpanditsbusinessglobally,especiallyinEuropeandNorthAmerica,whereSupercellhasastrongpresence.

Secondly,theacquisitionofSupercellcanhelpTencentachievestrategictransformationfromacompanythatprimarilyfocusesonsocialandcommunicationservicestoacompanywithamorediversifiedbusinessportfolio.ThistransformationcanprovideTencentwithacompetitiveadvantageinthelongrun,asthegameindustryisexpectedtocontinuegrowingatafastpace,especiallywiththeriseofmobilegaming.Moreover,TencentcanalsobenefitfromthesynergiesbetweenSupercellandothersubsidiaries,suchasWeChat,astheseplatformscanprovideamoreintegratedgamingandsocialexperienceforusers.

PerformanceEvaluation

TheacquisitionofSupercellhasbeensuccessfulfrombothfinancialandnon-financialaspects.Onthefinancialside,theacquisitionhasbroughtsignificantcommercialreturnstoTencent.AccordingtoTencent'sfinancialreport,SupercellcontributedRMB29,964million($4.41billion)toTencent'srevenuein2019,whichrepresentsa65.2%increasecomparedtothepreviousyear.Moreover,Supercell'snetprofitmarginwas42.9%in2019,whichismuchhigherthanTencent'soverallnetprofitmarginof21.5%.ThisindicatesthatSupercellhasmaintainedahighlevelofprofitabilityafteritsacquisitionbyTencent.

Onthenon-financialside,theacquisitionhasalsobroughtstrategicbenefitstoTencent.Firstly,SupercellhasenabledTencenttoentertheglobalgamemarketandexpanditsbusinessportfolio.ThishashelpedTencenttoreduceitsrelianceonthedomesticmarket,whichisbecomingincreasinglycompetitiveandsaturated.Secondly,theacquisitionhasprovidedTencentwithavaluablesourceofexpertiseandresourcesingamedevelopment.ThishashelpedTencenttoimproveitsgamedevelopmentcapabilityandenhancethequalityofitsgames.Finally,theacquisitionhascreatedsynergiesbetweenSupercellandotherTencentsubsidiaries,suchasWeChat.ThishashelpedTencenttoprovideamoreintegratedgamingandsocialexperienceforusers.

Conclusion

Inconclusion,theacquisitionofSupercellhasbeenasuccessfulstrategicmoveforTencent,enablingittoentertheglobalgamemarket,realizestrategictransformation,andachievesignificantcommercialreturns.TheacquisitionhasbroughtstrategicbenefitstoTencent,suchasdiversifyingitsbusinessportfolioandimprovingitsgamedevelopmentcapability,andhascreatedsynergiesbetweenSupercellandotherTencentsubsidiaries.Moreover,theacquisitionhasbeenfinanciallysuccessful,withSupercellcontributingsignificantlytoTencent'srevenueandmaintainingahighlevelofprofitability.Therefore,theacquisitionofSupercellhasbeenavaluableinvestmentforTencentandhashelpedittoconsolidateitspositionasaleadingplayerintheglobaltechnologyindustryInadditiontothefinancialbenefits,theacquisitionofSupercellhasalsoallowedTencenttoexpanditsreachintotheWesterngamingmarket.SupercellhasastrongpresenceintheWesternmarketwithpopulargamessuchasClashofClansandClashRoyale.ByacquiringSupercellandenablingittocontinueoperatingindependently,Tencenthasbeenabletotapintothismarketandgainafootholdinthehighlycompetitivegamingindustry.

Furthermore,theacquisitionhasallowedTencenttodiversifyitsbusinessportfolioandreduceitsrelianceonitscorebusinessesinChina.ByacquiringSupercell,Tencenthasgainedaccesstotheglobalgamingmarket,whichhashelpedtoreduceitsdependenceontherapidlychangingChinesemarket.ThisdiversificationstrategyhasbeencrucialforTencent'slong-termgrowthasithasfacedregulatorychallengesinChinainrecentyears,especiallywithregardstoitsmessagingappWeChat.

Overall,theacquisitionofSupercellhasbeenastrategicmoveforTencentthathaspositioneditasamajorplayerintheglobalgamingindustry.Byacquiringasuccessfulandprofitablegamedevelopmentcompany,TencenthasbeenabletoexpanditsreachintotheWesternmarket,diversifyitsbusinessportfolio,andenhanceitsgamedevelopmentcapability.ThesuccessfulintegrationofSupercellintoTencent'sportfoliohasdemonstratedthecompany'sabilitytomakestrategicacquisitionsandleveragethestrengthsofacquiredcompaniestoachievelong-termgrowthInadditiontoitsacquisitionofSupercell,Tencenthasalsomadestrategicinvestmentsinavarietyofgamingcompaniesaroundtheworld.Forexample,thecompanyownsastakeinRiotGames,thedeveloperofthehugelypopulargameLeagueofLegends.TencenthasalsoinvestedinanumberofgamedevelopersinChina,includingNetEase,PerfectWorld,andShandaGames.

TheseinvestmentsandacquisitionshavehelpedTencenttobecomeoneofthelargestandmostinfluentialcompaniesinthegamingindustry.Thecompany'sexpertiseinmobileandonlinegaminghasmadeitanattractivepartnerforgamedevelopersandpublishersaroundtheworld,anditsextensivenetworkofpartnershipsandinvestmentshasenabledittostayonthecuttingedgeoftheindustry.

Lookingtothefuture,Tencent'sgamingdivisionislikelytocontinuetobeamajordriverofgrowthforthecompany.Therapidlygrowingglobalgamingmarketpresentssignificantopportunitiesforexpansion,andTencent'sstrongpositionintheindustrymakesitwell-positionedtotakeadvantageoftheseopportunities.

Oneimportanttrendthatislikelytoshapethefutureofthegamingindustryistheriseofesports.Competitivegaminghasbecomeincreasinglypopularinrecentyears,withlargetournamentsandeventsdrawinghugecrowdsandgeneratingsignificantrevenue.Tencenthasalreadymadesignificantinvestmentsinesports,andisexpectedtobeamajorplayerinthisgrowingindustryintheyearstocome.

Anothertrendthatislikelytoshapethefutureofthegamingindustryistheincreasingpopularityofmobileandonlinegaming.Asmorepeoplearoundtheworldgainaccesstosmartphonesandtheinternet,thedemandformobileandonlinegamesislikelytocontinuetogrow.Tencent'sexpertiseinthese