China’s biggest listed internet company, Tencent, has announced that it is to acquire a 28% stake in South Korean online gambling and mobile gaming firm CJ Games for $500 million (€363.2 million).

Under the agreement, Tencent said that it would acquire a mixture of existing and newly issued common stock, making it the third-largest investor in CJ Games after Bang JH and CJ E&M Corp.

The Chinese company said the deal would allow it to expand its online and mobile gaming business and grow its presence overseas. In addition, CJ Games will be able to establish a foothold in the Chinese market, with the deal also allowing the two companies to jointly pursue opportunities worldwide.

“Our partnership combines CJ Games’ unrivaled game development skills and mobile game line-up, together with Tencent’s strong game publishing and operation capabilities in China,” Tencent’s president Martin Lau said.

Young-Sik Kwon, chief executive officer of CJ Games, added: “CJ Games will take advantage of Tencent’s platforms which is used by hundreds of millions of users, and its game industry know how, to enhance the global popularity of CJ Games’ mobile games.

The deal will also see CJ Games acquire and merge Netmarble, a game distribution division of CJ E&M.

Cho Young-Ki, chief executive officer of Netmarble, added: “We will actively seek our opportunities for collaboration in game distribution and development and aim to further enhance our competency in the global market by investment in high potential game developers.”

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