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Ubisoft rumored to be preparing itself for sale

Several buyout firms may be showing interest in taking over Ubisoft amid the company's weakened position over the past few years.
TJ Denzer
TJ Denzer
5

Earlier this year, Activision Blizzard shocked everyone when we saw word of it selling for around $68.7 billion USD. It turns out Ubisoft could also be showing up in such a headline in the near future if rumors pan out regarding a possible buyout of the company. It’s been said that Ubisoft itself may be preparing for a sale and several firms are seemingly taking interest.

Word of Ubisoft’s possible sale was first reported over at Bloomberg. According to sources close to the matter, Ubisoft’s decreasing stock price and performance over the last few years have led to a situation where buyout firms are studying the French publisher/developer. Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. are the two most interested groups in the matter. Meanwhile, Kotaku reported that various current and former senior developers at Ubisoft claimed the company is currently going through an internal audit, and the reason may likely be that the company is tidying up its records and financials for an inevitable sale. Even so, investment firms have supposedly only shown preliminary interest and Ubisoft has not entered into any official negotiations for any kind of sale just yet.

While Ubisoft (UBSFY) stock has been fairly week in the last few years, it jumped a bit to a high of $9.30 per share on word of interest in a buyout of the company.
While Ubisoft (UBSFY) stock has been fairly week in the last few years, it jumped to a high of $9.30 per share on word of interest in a buyout of the company.

Ubisoft’s flagging stock price has been the result of several years of issues. The company has faced production problems and been in the news constantly over the last couple years due to allegations of sexual harassment and workplace toxicity alongside the likes of Activision Blizzard, up to and including a workers movement launching at Ubisoft demanding better conditions.

The above-mentioned firms had no comment at the time of writing and while Ubisoft said to Bloomberg in an email that it is “ideally positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities amid rapid growth in the industry,” the company declined to comment on takeover interest. Nonetheless, a takeover would have to go through the Guillemot family, which is still a major shareholder in Ubisoft, holding about 15 percent of the company’s overall stock. As we await further details on a possible Ubisoft deal, stay tuned to Shacknews for updates on this story.

Senior News Editor
Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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