Finally, after having struggled not to be absorbed by an external player, Ubisoft would see itself being bought out. At least he would study the proposals for the interest of stakeholders, players included.
A few years ago, the publisher had to stand up against a takeover bid by Vincent Bolloré’s group, Vivendi. A soap opera followed for many months by the entire industry and which ended in a victory for Ubisoft. An outcome that inevitably brought joy to society.
Ubisoft can and wants to remain independent, but…
After this offensive, we could have believed Ubisoft vaccinated against any other attempt. And yet, it’s good Yves Guillemot, CEO of the group, who spoke again about the subject and said he was open to a takeover. But in the first place, the man did not want to panic anyone: Ubisoft has all the resources and qualities to remain independent.
We have always taken decisions in the interest of our stakeholders who are our employees, our players and our shareholders. Ubisoft can remain independent : we have the talents, the financial strength and a wide range of original franchises. That said, if a takeover offer reaches us, the board of directors will study it in the interest of all stakeholders..
he said during a meeting with investors.
Frederick Duguetthe company’s chief financial officer, shares this point of view and did not wish to speculate further on it.
Internal problems favoring a takeover?
At present, Ubisoft’s capitalization is 5.34 billion euros. Even with a higher final price offer, we’d probably be closer to Bethesda’s €6.4 billion than Activision Blizzard’s €60.5 billion. The editor saw his shares fall by 40.14% in one year.
As during the takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, Ubisoft has been in turmoil for several months. In question, serious internal problems with in particular cases of harassment which led Ubi to do the housework himself, in addition to witnessing waves of departures without precedent.
Sony and Microsoft, the first buyers of Ubisoft?
If Ubisoft has of course been careful not to reveal having received one or various proposal (s), it’s a safe bet that people are jostling at the gate.
In the first place, Microsoft appears to be the “natural” contender, due to its financial strike force and its takeover strategy which consists of absorbing large publishers already in place to supply the Xbox Game Pass. But the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard must already be examined and validated. If Phil Spencer, boss of Xboxis confident, not sure that the regulators will subsequently accept a takeover as large as that of Ubisoft.
Then there is Sony and its branch Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation). Although the Japanese giant has a different strategy, which is to buy studios close to it, it has also gotten its hands on Bungie (Destiny) to serve its multiplayer/games-as-a-service ambitions. Ubisoft has both feet in it… and is also steeped in open-world titles, like playstation with the very recent Horizon Forbidden West.
Other possible suitors?
nintendo, he does not want to pay into it, but has an excellent relationship with Ubisoft. It is the number 1 third-party editor on Switch, according to Yves Guillemot, and the only one to have been able to use the plumber and his friends in Mario + The Rabbids Kingdom Battle and its sequel Mario + The Rabbids Sparks of Hope .
As a result, we exhaust the tracks. google tries to save the furniture with Stadia and Amazon takes care of the New World box. Stay Tencentwho is more used to picking lots of shares everywhere.
Do you think Ubisoft should continue alone? Do you think that these declarations prepare the ground for a takeover already recorded in the heads of the leaders? Who do you see as a buyer? Tell us all in the comments below.
