Tencent to delist live streamer

Tencent (0700) plans to take the Nasdaq-listed live streaming platform DouYu private amid disagreements over strategy among executives at the Chinese videogame streaming firm, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Tencent, the biggest shareholder in DouYu with a 37 percent stake, wants to team up with at least one private equity firm for the deal and is currently talking to investment banks.

It is aiming to complete the deal this year, said one of the people.

Shares in DouYu, one of Tencent's main platforms for game marketing and China's No 2 videogame streaming site, surged on the news, jumping 12.7 percent in pre-market trade.

The company has been debating its business strategy after Tencent's plans to merge it with bigger rival Huya were blocked by regulators in July last year on antitrust grounds.

There have been differences among DouYu executives over whether to stick with game livestreaming as its core business or shift towards more profitable entertainment livestreaming, said the other person. The take-private plans reflect Tencent's desire to have a firm grip on its core gaming affiliates at a time when it faces a raft of regulatory issues, said the source.

This came as Zhang Yiming, the founder of Tiktok's parent Bytedance, has stepped down from the legal representative of the unicorn startup and its units, succeeded by chairman Zhang Lidong.