Soon the end of “independence” for Ubisoft ? Rumors of a takeover of the publisher have been going strong for a few months, with some betting on a Microsoft or a Sony to take over the reins of the box. But it was without counting on Tencent, which is undoubtedly the best placed today to monopolize Ubisoft, since the Chinese giant already owns 5% of the shares of the company. But Tencent now wants more, and that shouldn’t help the Guillemot family.
Tencent is already a shareholder of Ubisoft, but not the majority
A new report from Reuters indicates that Tencent Holdings Ltd wants to become more aggressive in grabbing more shares in Ubisoft.
When the Chinese publisher acquired the 5% of Ubisoft it owns today, it then promised not to seek to increase its share for 5 years. That was in 2018, and 2023 is upon us, which means Tencent can now look to acquire more.
According to Reuters, Tencent contacted the Guillemot family to show their interest. According to the site’s sources, Tencent would in fact seek to become the majority shareholder of Ubisoft, overtaking the Guillemot family who owns 15% of the shares of the company.
An aggressive offer
The rest is a bit technical, but Tencent has already offered to buy back shares at 100 euros per unitagainst the 66 euros per share that the publisher put in 2018. Suffice to say that after the announcement of Reuters, the action of Ubisoft soared, by almost 15%, with a view to this possible takeover .
The site also indicates that Tencent is very determined to acquire these shares., and that Ubisoft is a strategic asset for the company. The two companies have not commented publicly on the matter, but it is known that Tencent executives met with the Guillemot family last May in France.
Suffice to say that Tencent is not ready to drop the piece, and the situation of Ubisoft could change drastically in the months to come.