Hero-of-Time Posted March 20, 2018 Posted March 20, 2018 Outstanding news! Quote Paris - March 20, 2018 - Today, Ubisoft announced that it has signed an agreement with Vivendi for its full exit from Ubisoft`s share capital, with the sale of all Vivendi`s 30,489,300 shares. The transaction includes an investment by two new long-term investors, the Relationship Investing arm of Ontario Teachers` Public Equities division, and Tencent, a share buy-back by Ubisoft, an acquisition of shares by Guillemot Brothers SE and an Accelerated Bookbuilding with institutional investors. Following the implementation of the transaction, Vivendi will no longer hold any shares in Ubisoft, and has committed not to acquire any shares in Ubisoft for 5 years. As part of the transaction, Ubisoft and Tencent have also announced today a strategic partnership that will significantly accelerate the reach of Ubisoft franchises in China in the coming years. Yves Guillemot, CEO and Co-Founder, said: "The evolution in our shareholding is great news for Ubisoft. It was made possible thanks to the outstanding execution of our strategy and the decisive support of Ubisoft talents, players and shareholders. I would like to warmly thank them all. The investment from new long-term shareholders in Ubisoft demonstrates their trust in our future value creation potential, and Ubisoft`s share buy-back will be accretive to all shareholders. Finally, the new strategic partnership agreement we signed will enable Ubisoft to accelerate its development in China in the coming years and fully leverage a market with great potential." "Today, Ubisoft is fully reaping the benefits of our long-term strategy and the successful transformation towards a more recurring and profitable business. Ubisoft is perfectly positioned to capture the numerous video game growth drivers in the coming years. We are focused more than ever on delivering on our strategic plan." 3
Dcubed Posted February 17, 2022 Posted February 17, 2022 (edited) Oh... oh the irony... Didn't expect to have to end up bumping this thread! I wonder if Vivendi would have the brass balls to try again now... Or perhaps a merger with EA might now be on the cards? I can't imagine that a platform holder would be willing to take on their absolutely gigantic burn-rate... But could Sony now be desperate enough following the ABK acquisition? Edited February 17, 2022 by Dcubed
Hero-of-Time Posted April 23, 2022 Author Posted April 23, 2022 Sharks be circling the waters... https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-acquisition-buyout-assassin-s-creed-far-cry-gho-1848831498 Can't say I'm bothered about the company anymore. Outside of Mario and Rabbids, I'm not interested in any of their output. They've ran all of their popular IPs into the ground. They are obsessed with Live Service, GaaS, bloated open worlds and any other trend that's going at the moment. They seem creatively bankrupt and more interested in making games that encourage player retention and spending rather than ones that are fun to play. A lot of the workplace scandal never got resolved and was simply brushed under the rug. Crazy to see how far they've fallen. Although, you just have to look at all the other publishers to see that it's not just Ubisoft but an industry wide problem. You've got countless stories popping up about unfair workplace practices or discrimination, platformer holders wanting to insert adverts into games, road maps and promises of games being finished long after you've purchased them....the list goes on. Someone really needs to press the reset button on the industry. 2
Glen-i Posted April 23, 2022 Posted April 23, 2022 It's a real shame that we likely won't see a sequel to Child of Light. Looking at Ubisoft now, it's astonishing that game came out of that company. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted August 4, 2022 Author Posted August 4, 2022 Tencent getting ready to gobble up another company? Quote It is not clear how much more Tencent plans to own in Ubisoft, valued at $5.3 billion, but Tencent aims to become the single largest shareholder of the French company with an additional stake purchase, two of the sources said. Tencent plans to buy a part of the additional stake in Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise, from the Guillemot family, which owns 15% of the firm, three of the sources said. Tencent could offer up to 100 euros ($101.84) per share to acquire the additional stake, two of the sources with knowledge of the internal discussions, said. It paid 66 euros per share for the 5% stake in 2018. 1
Dcubed Posted August 4, 2022 Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) And there it is. Tencent finally makes their big play into western AAA publishing. Was only a matter of time. And it’s a perfect fit for them, considering Ubisoft’s international developer studio presence (including China). Now. Will Tencent take the next step and attempt to come out swinging with their own PC/Console platform? BTW, do note that under French law, reaching 30% ownership of a company means that you must attempt a takeover (hostile or otherwise), so this really is probably the end of Ubisoft as an independent entity. Edited August 4, 2022 by Dcubed
Dufniall Posted August 5, 2022 Posted August 5, 2022 17 hours ago, Dcubed said: Now. Will Tencent take the next step and attempt to come out swinging with their own PC/Console platform? They're already starting to experiment with a console, although not with a platform of their own but definitely testing the waters here. In collaboration with Logitech they are working on a streaming device for stuff like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming: https://www.pcgamer.com/logitech-g-tencent-cloud-gaming-device/ 1
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