LONDON, July 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is placing a heavyweight bet on UK game developer Sumo (SUMO.L). The $680 billion Chinese technology giant announced on Monday that it was acquiring the Sheffield-based company for 919 million pounds ($1.3 billion), having previously held a 9% stake. Ownership of Sumo will help grow Tencent’s revenue from outside China, where the company recently saw its plan to merge gaming streaming companies Huya (HUYA.N) and DouYu blocked read more . But the chunky premium could yet throw the deal’s economics off balance. Tencent is paying 36 times Sumo’s 2021 EBITDA, according to Refinitiv forecasts, versus an average of 20 times for UK peers. Taxed at 19%, Sumo’s expected 2021 EBIT of 19 million pounds would yield a return on invested capital of under 2% on the purchase price. To have any hope of justifying its acquisition, Tencent will need to steer Sumo from making games for other companies to the more profitable but trickier business of creating its own hits. With shares in Frontier Developments (FDEV.L), another British developer in which the tech giant holds a 9% stake, also leaping by almost a tenth on Monday, investors are hoping for more Tencent padding elsewhere. (By Oliver Taslic) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: China hack backs White House into a corner read more Ocado’s robot fire may cause lingering damage read more Oil producers do themselves a favour read more Aussie deal hangs on iffy long-distance China call read more Evergrande’s capital wheeze is only a paper gain read more