MUMBAI: Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings has invested $100 million (around INR 719 crore) in Mumbai-based Dream 11 Fantasy according to VCCircle.

Dream11 had been in advanced stages of discussion with Tencent about raising funds from the Chinese behemoth since April 2018. Further, media reports at the time had also indicated that Tencent may invest close to $100 million in Dream11 at a pre-money valuation of around $400-500 million.

It has also been reported that Tencent has been planning to invest close to $200 million in gaming ventures in India. The Chinese firm has also, in the past, held talks with two social gaming companies - Octro and MoonFrog Labs for potential acquisition or investment opportunities.

The report in VCCircle quotes an unnamed executive of Dream11 confirming that the transaction with Tencent Holdings has been completed.

In March 2018, the company roped in cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as brand ambassador and signed a deal with Star India to be the associate sponsor of the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a twenty-twenty cricket tournament.

According to the company’s spokesperson, Dream11 has around 41 million users and is set to grow to 100 million users by 2019. “Our goal is to create awareness around fantasy sport in the country and keep getting more of India’s 800 million sport fans to play fantasy sport on Dream11,” the spokesperson added.

The investment deal by Tencent is the biggest transaction in the India gaming industry and makes Dream11 the most expensive and highly valued online gaming company in the country.