Tencent Holdings Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in Finnish gaming company Supercell worth $8.6 billion.

Tencent, the biggest gaming company in China, bought the stake from SoftBank Group Corp. The Japanese company is currently looking to cut its debt volume. Supercell is best known for its Clash of Clans title.

Like Us on Facebook

The deal involved an 84 percent stake in Supercell. According to the agreement, the Finnish gaming company is valued close to $10.2 billion. It is the biggest foreign acquisition so far for Tencent. The Hong Kong-listed company has made several investments in the gaming sector. These investments include Epic Games, Glu Mobile and Riot Games.

Tencent bought Riot Games stake for $231 million, while for Epic Games, it paid $330 million.

The arrangement will help Tencent to solidify its position in international markets. Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said, "We are very bullish on online gaming. We would like to get exposure to this market."

Supercell, on the other hand, will gain access to the user base of Tencent. Ilkka Paananen, Supercell's chief executive, stated that "One of the big things that drives us is trying to reach as many players as possible."

Tencent is reported to have about 300 million users.

Supercell is one of the frontrunners in the mobile gaming sector. The company focuses on niche gaming titles. Its games have a wide following globally, including in the US, Europe, and Asia.

In 2015, the company posted a 36 percent increase in its sales, while its EBIT jumped 65 percent from previous year to 848 million euros ($959 million).

TagsTencent, CLASH OF CLANS, SoftBank, supercell