Observatory of the news of mergers and acquisitions, DealREporter has thrown a new pavement into the pond concerning Ubisoft, suspected for some time to attract the lusts of a boiling market.
We are not yet at the stage of a soap -like like that of Vivendi, which had delighted us with its twists and turns between 2015 and 2018, but there is obviously a start of agitation around Ubisoft. The scholarship is in any case very attentive to the situation of the French publisher, whose action jumped 8.93% to reach 46.61 euros on Wednesday. It is very far from the value it still displayed in January 2021 (85.18 euros) but the important thing is the cause of this rebound.
In all likelihood, it is information to dealporter that set fire to the powder. According to it, Ubisoft’s management would like to protect itself against any possible attempt to buy on the part of a bigger fish than it. But to keep operational control and after having passed on to large drops for years against the offensives of Vincent Bolloré, the Guillemot family does not have 36 solutions. This is why she would consider associating with a investment capital company to acquire Ubisoft and withdraw from the stock market. Recall that the founding family currently holds 15.9% of the company’s shares and 22.3% of voting rights.
Only a few days ago, Bloomberg reported that the Blackstone and KKR investment companies were interested in the profile of the French group. According to the finance specialist, these two funds studied the file, but Ubisoft had not yet started serious negotiations with potential buyers, the latest news. Kotaku added a layer in stride by saying that Aubisoft called on audit firms to “the order in his accounts” and present a nice profile to potential buyers. Anyone who would like to take action to have room in his pavilion: Ubisoft makes more than 20,000 people work in the world.
The chances of a repurchase by a manufacturer seem weak
During its most recent financial presentation, on February 22, Ubisoft’s management acknowledged that it would examine any acquisition offers, without making it a perfectly declared objective. “Ubisoft can remain independent. We have talent, industrial and financial scale, and a large portfolio of powerful licenses. That being said, if there was an offer to buy us, the board of directors would examine it well Sure in the interest of all stakeholders, “said Yves Guillemot.
On the other hand, becoming the property of a manufacturer is not its objective, in any case if one believes its desire to remain active on all the platforms on the market. This is obviously worth for PlayStation, a platform which represents more than 30% of Ubisoft turnover, for Xbox whose game pass has aroused its interest recently (Rainbow Six Extraction, Assassin’s Creed Origins) but also for the Nintendo Switch on which Ubisoft is one of the most efficient third -party publishers (Just Dance, Mario + The Rabbids).
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