Ubisoft has officially decided to come forward and address the rumors of Tencent exploring the option to buy out the French game publisher, although the statement right now is very vague. It’s been rumored that Tencent is teaming up with the Guillemot Family to buy out Ubisoft to take the company private, but it has not officially been confirmed. According to sources close to the scene, Tencent and the Guillemot Family are speaking to advisors. In a statement released on Monday, Ubisoft said that they “regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of its stakeholders and will inform the market if and when appropriate.”
Additionally, the statement goes on to mention that “the Company reiterates that management is currently focused on executing its strategy, centered on two core verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences.” This is as far as the statement goes, with the statement being just a couple of sentences long.
It wouldn’t be too shocking for the Guillemot Family to team up with Tencent to purchase Ubisoft, as the Guillemot Family founded Ubisoft, with Yves Guillemot being the current CEO of the company. It’s said that Tencent wants to look into ways to “stabilize Ubisoft and bolster its value.” At the moment, Ubisoft isn’t having the best time, as its shares were driven down 19% last month, especially with Ubisoft making the decision to delay the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, with Star Wars Outlaws sales being much lower than they initially thought.
Star Wars Outlaws has been a huge point of contention for both Ubisoft and the audience, with Ubisoft funneling as much money as possible into the game and its promotion, for it to only sell a million copies in the month of its release.
According to Bloomberg, Ubisoft is considering taking the company private. Tencent has a 10% stake in Ubisoft, but also owns 49.9% of Guillemot Brothers Ltd. If Tencent did take the company private, it’s a move that wouldn’t surprise many in the slightest. However, if they were to take the company private, there would also be a push for huge reconstructions, including a new CEO and many new layoffs. Ubisoft has already laid off quite a few workers from their team, with the IT team and special effects studio being at the forefront of the layoffs.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has now been delayed until next year, so it remains to be seen if Ubisoft will make any decisions before that point or if they are waiting to see whether this game will fix their finances.
