Beijing Byte Dance Telecommunications Co., Ltd. is in talks to buy into mobile games publisher CMGE Technology Group Limited (SEHK:302), four people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as the owner of short video app TikTok moves to strengthen its next pillar of growth. The deal would come as the gaming industry continues to benefit from COVID-19 pandemic countermeasures which have forced people to stay at home, boosting game downloads. ByteDance plans to buy part or all of the 27.6% CMGE stake held by Fairview Ridge Investment Limited, controlled by CMGE Chairman Xiao Jian and vice Chairman Sin Hendrick, said two of the people. ByteDance is looking to offer HKD 4 to HKD 5 ($0.52 to $0.64) per share to purchase the stake, said another person. Xiao and Sin are the biggest shareholders of Hong Kong-listed CMGE, holding 33.9% and 32.6% respectively through a number of entities, regulatory filings showed. A successful transaction could make ByteDance CMGE's single largest shareholder, said one of the people. The deal is yet to be finalised and is subject to change, the person said. The people declined to be identified as the information is not public. Neither ByteDance nor CMGE responded to requests for comment. Reuters could not reach Fairview for comment.