Ubisoft is one of the biggest video game publishers in the world. Several companies are interested in a takeover of the giant.
The video game industry is more than ever at the center of concentration. The takeovers of small or large studios are multiplying at a frantic pace and the year 2022 is already breaking records with the announcements of takeovers of Zinga, then Activision-Blizzard. In this context, what will become of the large, still independent publishers? Ubisoft could be the next takeover target.
Investment funds with a big appetite
It is the very serious Bloomberg which reveals that several companies are in reflection for a takeover of Ubisoft. This would notably be the case of the two investment funds Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. Please note, it should be noted thatUbisoft has not entered into negotiations with any potential buyer as it stands. These are therefore first snippets of information that could lead to the takeover of Ubisoft in the long term, but it is too early to conclude. We only know that the French publisher is of interest to the market.
Blackrock is a giant in the investment industry. Based in New York, he was considered in 2020 the largest asset manager in the world. Like KKR, it is therefore not primarily about video game players or even tech in the broad sense.
After the scandals of 2020, Ubisoft now peaks at a value of 4.8 billion euros on the stock market with 15% of the shares held by Yves Guillemot, the publisher’s boss.
Not the first time
Remember that until now, Ubisoft has always wanted to keep its independence. This was particularly the case in 2018 when Vincent Bolloré’s Vivendi group attempted to take control of the publisher. Yves Guillemot finally managed to maintain the independence of his publisher, at the cost of taking action on the part of the Chinese giant Tencent.
Why a takeover is possible
The Kotaku website
was able to speak with several Ubisoft developers and confirm that a takeover of the publisher was possible. According to the outlet, Ubisoft worked with several consultants to audit and optimize parts of its business. It can be assumed that these actions were taken to simply increase the profits of the publisher, but it is reasonable to think that Ubisoft would like to improve its value with potential buyers.
For Yves Guillemot, the strategy could this time pay off for his personal interests. As indicated by Kotaku, no longer any member of the Guillemot family is now part of the group and the publisher is facing several pitfalls. Apart from the many controversies regarding the working atmosphere and harassment, Ubisoft has to deal with stalled or delayed projects and a flight of the most seasoned developers.
A huge ocean liner
Still, Ubisoft is not an easy takeover to undertake. We are talking about a group integrating more than 20,000 employees worldwide divided between many internal studios. Unlike the organization of other publishers, most of these studios work together on projects and their fates are intertwined. It is also one of the publishers of this size that best masters the production of video games on an industrial scale.
Under these conditions, a takeover of Ubisoft would have significant repercussions for both the industry and the acquirer, but also, and above all, for the employees. It is hard to believe that such a process would take place without a reduction in the number of employees.
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