Tencent buys minority interest in Goldman Sachs-backed Voodoo

Katharine Hidalgo
18 August 2020

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Tencent has acquired a minority interest in Goldman Sachs-backed Voodoo, a gaming company.

The company is valued at $1.4bn, though the management team was initially looking to dispose of a 25% interest at a valuation of €1.5bn, according to a report by gameworldobserver.com.

It remains unclear whether Goldman Sachs sold part of its stake as part of the transaction. The firm had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication.

Voodoo CEO Alexandre Yazdi will retain majority ownership of the company.

Goldman Sachs bought a minority interest in Voodoo in 2018 for $200m. The firm used its West Street Capital Partners VII vehicle for the transaction. The fund was launched by Goldman Sachs in 2016. A source close to the situation told Unquote that the vehicle reached a close on around $7bn in mid-2017.

Founded in 2013, Voodoo develops and publishes casual mobile games in partnership with 400 studios worldwide. The company generated revenues of €360m in 2019 and employs 250 staff.