Tencent directors step down from Epic Games’ board

Tencent directors step down from Epic Games’ board after US Justice Department “expressed concerns”

Law states directors should not serve on the boards of competing companies, such as Epic and Riot

Two Tencent directors have left Epic Games’ board of directors after the US Justice Department “expressed concerns” about their positions.

“Tencent also decided to amend its shareholder agreement with Epic to relinquish its unilateral right to appoint directors or observers to the Epic board in the future,” the department said.

In a statement posted on the US Justice Department’s website of 2024, the report said the department believed the appointment on both the Epic and Tencent boards violated Section 8 of the Clayton Act, an antitrust law that seeks to protect consumers from practices that could be harmful.

The law states that directors and officers should not serve simultaneously on the boards of competing companies, such as Epic and Riot.

Consequently, Tencent has amended its shareholder agreement with Epic to “relinquish its unilateral right to appoint directors or observers” on the latter’s board given it owns a minority stake in Epic whilst also being the parent company of Epic competitor, Riot Games.

“Scrutiny around interlocking directorates continues to be an enforcement priority for the Antitrust Division,” said the department’s deputy director of civil enforcement, Miriam R. Vishio.

“Due to the hard work of our tremendous staff, our increased enforcement around Section 8 over the last few years has achieved substantial results and become part of our fabric.”

Epic Games said in an emailed statement the two Tencent-nominated board directors “who had a minority of board votes voluntarily resigned from Epic’s Board earlier this year based on the U.S. Department of Justice’s expressed concerns.”

Tencent is said to be holding off taking part in the buyout of Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft and increasing its stake in Ubisoft until it has been promised a greater influence when it comes to future board decisions.