Tencent enters talks to acquire Manus,20maintaining a valuation of hundreds of millions of dollars
As the Chinese government has ordered Meta to scrap its deal to acquire Manus, Tencent and existing investors and executives are holding talks to buy Manus back from Meta. The deal value is said to be the same as Meta’s valuation at the time of the acquisition,20in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
As the Chinese government has ordered Meta to scrap its deal to acquire the AI startup Manus, Tencent is holding talks to buy Manus again and become its largest shareholder. Investors are drawing attention because any change in ownership could lead to cooperation and influence related to its AI business.
The parties to the talks include Tencent, existing investors Genfund and HSG, and Manus management. The company’s valuation remains at20the hundreds of millions of dollars Meta assigned at the time of the acquisition.
Tencent is expected to become the largest shareholder through this deal while remaining a minority shareholder without securing a majority stake. Manus is said not to be folded into Tencent’s business and to operate independently in Singapore.
Meta announced last year 12 month that it would acquire Manus for 20 billion dollars. However, in 4 month, the Chinese government ordered Meta to cancel the acquisition deal, citing national security and concerns over the leakage of advanced AI technology.
Negotiations are currently under way, and the possibility that a new investor may join is also being discussed. Manus co-founder Xiao Hong is said to have been included among the first external user group to test and preview Tencent's own AI agent features.
So far, the results of the talks and specific terms have not been disclosed.
Sources: 뉴시스 경제
Bullstory synthesized this report from the linked sources. AI may have assisted the writing process. Check the original reports for factual confirmation.