- Minority investor AJ Investments has called for Ubisoft to stop focusing on “average games” that harm its reputation
- The open letter argues “difficult decisions” must be made
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A minority investor in Ubisoft has called for a change in leadership and for the company to be taken private or sold after its shares fell to a 10-year low.
In an open letter, Juraj Krupa, founder and investor at Slovakian hedge fund AJ Investments and Partners which holds less than 1% of shares in the publisher, expressed “deep dissatisfaction with the current performance and strategic direction of the company”.
Krupa called for a change in the current management at Ubisoft and for the publisher to begin a search for a new CEO.
He criticised the delays to Ubisoft’s upcoming mobile titles Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence until next year. He also highlighted the decline in Ubisoft’s share price over the past year, which is down by approximately 50%.
“Difficult decisions”
Krupa has threatened to attempt to band together with other shareholders and use French Minority Law to start a “proxy fight” with Ubisoft.
The investor hopes to initiate a sale process of thepubllisher in an effort to increase shareholder value, believing Ubisoft’s current valuation is dramatically below where it should be. At the time of writing (September 10th, 2024), Ubisoft’s shares are priced at €13.32 each – well below AJ Investments’ preferred €40 to €45 range.
“Shareholders are hostages of Guillemot family members and Tencent who take advantage of them,” the investor claimed.
“We cannot understand the decision-making process of the current management that is focused on releasing multiple average games per year that are harming Ubisoft’s reputation among gamers instead of focusing on providing hit games within its exceptional franchise portfolio.”
In the letter, Krupa also argued that “difficult decisions” must be made, including cost reduction measures at Ubisoft like layoffs, more “aggressive” cutbacks, and selling studios focused on non-core games to concentrate resources on Ubisoft’s biggest IPs.
However, despite the critical stance, the investor did note Ubisoft’s “strong turnaround potential” should it change trajectory under new management.
