en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 10, Chinese internet company Tencent is in talks to become the largest shareholder of Singapore-based artificial intelligence company Manus. Tencent, ZhenFund, HSG, and Manus management plan to participate in an equity repurchase arrangement, buying back Manus from U.S. Meta at a transaction scale of no less than $2 billion. The relevant negotiations have not yet been finalized, and the final investment ratio, equity structure, and transaction timeline remain undetermined.
This repurchase revolves around Meta's previous acquisition of Manus. U.S.-based Meta acquired Manus in December 2025 for approximately $2 billion. Subsequently, Chinese regulators initiated a review of the transaction and demanded the reversal of the completed acquisition. Meta has since separated Manus employees from its internal systems, halted data sharing and business integration between the two parties, and is currently still processing the separation of equity, funds, and asset relationships.
The proposed plan does not involve Tencent paying $2 billion alone to acquire Manus. Tencent will participate in the repurchase alongside Manus's original investors and management team, with the transaction valuation expected to remain consistent with Meta's previous acquisition.
Under the current discussion plan, Tencent is expected to take the largest share in the repurchase transaction, becoming the single largest shareholder of Manus. However, its stake will remain below 50%, without forming absolute control. Manus plans to continue operating as an independent company, with its headquarters and main business remaining in Singapore. The negotiating parties are also exploring the possibility of introducing other investors, and U.S. investment firm Benchmark is not expected to participate in this round of repurchase.
Manus was founded by a Chinese team and later moved its headquarters to Singapore. Its core product is a general-purpose AI agent that can autonomously decompose tasks, invoke tools, and complete multi-step operations. Its system can handle tasks such as data research, code writing, data organization, and web operations. Unlike large model applications that only generate text responses, Manus emphasizes task planning and execution chains.
Tencent, Manus, and ZhenFund have not publicly confirmed the transaction terms, and Meta and HSG have not disclosed specific negotiation progress. Whether Tencent can become the largest shareholder of Manus still depends on the repurchase fund arrangement, regulatory review, and the final equity agreement signed by all parties.
