Huya and DouYu Merger Under Review for Anti-Monopoly Concerns

On Dec. 14, the Anti-monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation stated that the Huya and DouYu merger case is currently under investigation due to anti-trust concerns.

The case of the two giant livestreaming platforms is being reviewed in accordance with the law, considering that it involves the declaration of business concentration in the variable interest equity (VIE) structure.

As a shareholder of both parties and the main coordinator of the merger, Tencent’s stock price fell HK$17 to HK$571 per share as of Monday’s close, a drop of 2.89%.

The statement from the Bureau came along with the notice where Alibaba Investment, China Literature and Hive Box were each fined 500,000 yuan for failing to declare cases of illegal undertaking concentration.

On the evening of Dec. 14, Huya claimed that it had already proactively filed a declaration of operator concentration regarding the merge with DouYu to the authorities in accordance with the law, per Chinese media 21st Century Business Herald.

The company also said that it will cooperate with the review procedures from the authorities.

SEE ALSO:Huya and DouYu Publish 2020Q3 Financial Reports as Merger Draws Near

Previously on Oct. 12, Huya announced to buy DouYu and the latter was expected to delist from Nasdaq. The Tencent-driven merger will create a livestream giant worth $10 billion.

It currently remains unclear whether the investigation will lead to the success of the Tencent-backed merger.