Two board members of Fortnite studio Epic Games resigned after the U.S. Department of Justice expressed concern that their positions on the board of Epic and that of one in all its buyers, the Chinese gaming big Tencent, violated Section 8 of the Clayton Act.
The DOJ antitrust division introduced the resignations Wednesday, including that “Tencent additionally determined to amend its shareholder settlement with Epic to relinquish its unilateral proper to nominate administrators or observers to the Epic board sooner or later.”
The DOJ didn’t title the administrators that resigned. Epic is a privately-held firm.
Tencent, along with being an investor in Epic, additionally owns Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends and different sport franchises.
Section 8 of the Clayton Act prohibits administrators and officers from serving concurrently on the boards of opponents, topic to restricted exceptions. The DOJ has been energetic in investigating firms that it fears could also be violating the Act.
Earlier this yr two members of the Warner Bros. Discovery board (each members of the Newhouse household) stepped apart owing to their board positions at Charter Communications. And John Malone exited as director emeritus of Charter as effectively, additionally citing Clayton Act considerations.
“Scrutiny round interlocking directorates continues to be an enforcement precedence for the Antitrust Division,” stated Deputy Director of Civil Enforcement Miriam R. Vishio of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Due to the laborious work of our large employees, our elevated enforcement round Section 8 over the previous couple of years has achieved substantial outcomes and grow to be a part of our cloth.”
