Ubisoft suddenly took off on the stock market this Wednesday afternoon. Around 4:30 p.m., the action of the video game publisher climbed more than 8%, to 46.50 euros. A sharp rise certainly linked to new speculation on a takeover offer.
According to the Seeking Alpha site, the founding Guillemot family is considering partnering with a private equity firm to acquire the company. The Guillemot family holds 15.9% of the company’s shares and 22.3% of the voting shares. According to an article by Dealreporter, she would like to retain operational control of the video game publisher and therefore ward off any offensive from a major player in the sector or from the media and technology companies.
At the end of April, Bloomberg reported that the investment companies Blackstone and KKR were interested in the French group. According to the financial news agency, the Blackstone and KKR funds ” have studied “the file, but Ubisoft has not yet started” serious negotiations with potential buyers. »
And, according to the renowned video game blog Kotaku, if it’s not a fund that’s buying it, it’s going to be someone else, since, citing current and past team sources, the he French publisher has reportedly had recourse several times in recent years to consulting firms to audit its activities so that it ” puts its accounts in order for a potential sale “, reported the sources cited by the blog.
7 multi-billion dollar franchises
Given the evolution of video games towards streaming, “tech” giants such as, for example, Amazon, are now among the potential suitors. They are lured by the potential of the market. Generation Z, comprising those under 25, has made video games the number 1 entertainment, which promises “ happy days to the sector, we explained again recently within the firm Midcap Partners. The market is expected to grow by 8% per year by 2024, to reach 220 billion dollars.
For Neil Campling, analyst at Mirabaud Securities, “ Ubisoft has seven franchises, each with multi-billion dollar potential. »