Report: Tencent to acquire Black Shark, aims to enter the Metaverse?

Reports are claiming that Tencent intends to acquire Xiaomi's Black Shark brand with the intent to step into the Metaverse.

Tencent to acquire Black Shark?

Black Shark to be acquired?

Chinese website 36Kr claims that multiple independent sources have claimed that Tencent plans to acquire gaming smartphone maker Black Shark. Black Shark is a smartphone gaming brand that was established in 2017 and was backed by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi with a majority stake of 46.4 percent.

The report says that if it pulls through, the brand will undergo a massive business transformation which implies that Black Shark could expand and diversify once the transaction is complete.

This diversification process is expected to grow to include Virtual Reality or VR-based technologies and devices. This means that Black Shark will provide the hardware while Tencent will provide software content.

This is not new, Tencent has filed for a number of trademarks for technologies for the Metaverse. A similar move was done before where Facebook acquired Oculus in the past to provide VR content while Oculus provided the hardware.

The move makes sense as Tencent is known for a number of popular gaming titles and Black Shark would fit. Both brands have previously worked together with smartphones before as well.

What do you guys think?

Sources: 36kr, Twitter ,Via, GizmoChina, GizChina