Summary
Ubisoft’s founders, the Guillemot Family, and Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent are reportedly interested in ‘teaming up’ to buy out Ubisoft and take the company private, as reported byBloomberg.
The Guillemot Family and Tencent have reportedly been speaking to advisers to figure out ways to stabilise Ubisoft; the company’s share price has been in freefall over the last year, especially following thereported commercial underperformance of Star Wars Outlawsand thedelaying of Assassin’s Creed Shadowsuntil early 2025. Over the past year, Ubisoft’s share price has fallen over 51%, leaving the company with a market capitalisation of about $1.5 billion.
Ubisoft’s Flagging Fortunes
Tencent currently owns 9.2% of Ubisoft’s voting rights, while the Guillemot Family owns 20.5%. AJ Investments, a hedge fund and owner of 1% of Ubisoft’s shares, has beencalling for the resignation of the company’s chief executive officer Yves Guillemot, and also for Ubisoft to take the company private by selling to a private equity firm. The hedge fund claimed in an open letter that it had the support of 10% of Ubisoft’s various shareholders.
According to Bloomberg’s report, the Guillemot Family and Tencent are considering buying out the rest of Ubisoft’s shareholders to take the company private, the result of which would presumably be a Ubisoft wholly owned by this partnership. These are still early discussions, and it remains to be seen if this is the route Ubisoft and Tencent will pursue. They are also considering other alternatives.
Ubisoft has been the victim of a couple of high-profile failures over the past few years, culminating in the current situation where the company’s founders and a major investor feel the need to take action to address Ubisoft’s plummeting value. Ubisoft will be hoping that the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows in February will alleviate some of this pressure and begin to turn the company’s fortunes around.
The news of a potential buyout has already bolstered Ubisoft’s share price, which has increased by over 25% in a matter of hours.
Ubisoft
Headquartered in Saint-Mandé, France, Ubisoft is a developer and publisher that employs over 20,000 people worldwide. It is known primarily for the Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, Far Cry, and Just Dance series, as well as games using the Tom Clancy name. It also produces adaptations of popular board games, such as Monopoly and Uno.
