Ubisoft shares rose 10% on Wednesday after news that the publisher of the Assassin’s Creed franchise could be acquired. The company’s founders, the Guillemot family, are considering partnering with a private equity firm to acquire the company, stock news and data service Dealreporter reported. The Guillemot family holds 15.9% of Ubisoft’s shares and 22.3% of voting shares.
The Dealreporter article reportedly said the family wants to retain operational control of the company and may work with a private equity firm to block a possible takeover bid. Bloomberg reported on Friday that the French company behind the “Rainbow Six” and “Far Cry” franchises is attracting buyout interest from a number of private equity firms, including Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co.
“Ubisoft has not held any serious talks with a potential acquirer, and it is unclear whether its major shareholders are willing to enter into a deal,” the report said.
The company has delayed numerous product releases over the past few years, and its reputation has been tarnished by workplace misconduct scandals. The company has been the subject of a lot of speculation in recent months as the gaming industry continues to consolidate.
M&A activity in the gaming industry hit a record $85 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $150 billion this year, with big deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga already announced this year.
Ubisoft was asked on its earnings call in February whether it should resist various forms of consolidation in the industry in order to ensure that its game products can land on major platforms.
CEO Yves Guillemot responded: “We will continue to involve all these platforms because these platforms need good content.” If we continue to produce good content as we currently do, distribution rights to all platforms should be guaranteed. ”
“Take Nintendo as an example, we are their number one third-party publisher. Nintendo is interested in everything we do, we can even develop games under their brand, so this collaboration exists, and is Very productive.” The executive said he believed Ubisoft could remain independent and that any takeover bid would be evaluated in the interest of stakeholders.