Tencent & Guillemot Family Reportedly Considering Buyout Of Ubisoft [UPDATE: Ubisoft Responded]

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[UPDATE 7th Oct 2024]: Ubisoft had responded to the buyout rumour and confirming that it is considering going private. It did so as part of a statement where the company representative also reassures their shareholders that Ubisoft is proceeding with their best interest in mind. Furthermore, an official statement from the developer-publisher regarding this was made public.

It regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of its stakeholders and will inform the market if and when appropriate. The Company reiterates that management is currently focused on executing its strategy, centered on two core verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences.

The original article as follows:

Ubisoft had been going through several rough patches lately, specifically the underwhelming sales of Star Wars Outlaws and the decision to postpone the release of Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025 which would probably have had a strong impact on the freefalling of Ubisoft’s shares. According to a Bloomberg report, the Chinese tech giant, Tencent and Ubisoft’s founders, the Guillemot Family have been speaking with advisers to discuss the best course of action in order to stablilise Ubisoft’s plummeting value. One particular possible solution is that they’re reportedly looking into buying out Ubisoft, sending the company into private.

For your information, Guillemot Family-owned, Guillemot Brothers Ltd currently holds just over 20% of voting rights within the French publisher, Ubisoft while Tencent holds 9.2% of it. Furthermore, AJ Investments, a hedge fund with a 1% stake in Ubisoft, has been demanding the resignation of CEO Yves Guillemot. In an open letter, the hedge fund also stated that it has the backing of 10% of Ubisoft’s different shareholders.

Bloomberg also mentioned that if the buyout goes through with Tencent and Guillemot Family, then “the result of which would presumably be a Ubisoft wholly owned by this partnership.”. Though, multiple sources had come out and say that nothing is set in stone quite yet as they’re looking for alternative options.

Moreover, one interesting development to take note regarding this is that according to an article written by TheGamer, they mentioned that “The news of a potential buyout has already bolstered Ubisoft’s share price, which has increased by over 25% in a matter of hours.”. Lastly, Bloomberg reported that representatives for Ubisoft and the Guillemot family were asked regarding all of this but they declined speaking on it. A representative for Tencent however, has not given a response. Regarding more on this, we will keep our eyes on a lookout for any further development so stay tuned.