Greedy Tencent is buying Sumo Group, a developer founded in the UK with 14 studios worldwide, for $1.27 billion (£928 million, thanks Guardian). Tencent already held a minority stake in Sumo, but assuming Sumo shareholders accept 513 pesos per share (which is currently selling for just under 500 pesos thanks to a 40% post-announcement surge), Sumo will soon join the vast list of developers it owns.

Tencent's acquisitions are difficult to grasp. Last year, in addition to investments in companies like Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Riot, and Epic, the company acquired a whopping 31 gaming companies. It is the largest gaming company in the world (and the second largest tech company in China) and is expanding in size almost weekly.

Sumo is perhaps best known for its long-term relationship with Sega, which has resulted in some excellent work from the studio: Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast was an excellent effort. Recent releases include Hood: Outlaws & Legends, production of the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing series, development of the LittleBigPlanet spin-off, and a number of other series including Hitman, Forza Horizon, and Crackdown, and numerous other series on contract.

Sumo was founded in Sheffield and was the spiritual successor to Gremlin Interactive and Infogrames, and CEO Carl Cavers said that he and the other members, Paul Porter and Darren Mills, "are passionate about what they do. and are committed to continuing in their roles," he acknowledged in a statement.

Read on for more hot acquisition chat. Cavas said of the proposed acquisition, "We can't pass up the opportunity to work with Tencent. It will bring a new dimension to Sumo and give us the opportunity to truly make our mark on this great industry in a way that was previously out of reach."

"Tencent has a strong track record of supporting management teams and their existing strategies. Alongside the acceleration of its own IP, Tencent has demonstrated its commitment to supporting our client work and has expressed its willingness to secure the investment necessary to continue to focus on working with our key strategic partners on turnkey and joint development projects." The future of Sumo looks more exciting than ever.

From Tencent's side, there is the usual stuff about accelerating growth, a spirit of innovation, and delivering attractive value to shareholders. So I omitted them. Now: time to get on with another outrun of the 'Grand Sumo'.