Next Big Gaming Acquisition: Ubisoft Is On The List Now

After the Activision Blizzard/Microsoft deal – still in limbo – many are waiting for the next big takeover in the gaming market. That could be announced now: the reports about the French publisher and developer are rumbling more and more.

Ubisoft boss didn’t want it for a long time

Rumors of Ubisoft’s future under new ownership have been circulating for some time, fueled more recently by the potential mega-deal between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, who is also the company’s largest shareholder with a 15 percent stake, has repeatedly protested against takeover ideas, but in February of this year, after continued pressure, he at least admitted the possibility: “If there is an offer to buy for us. If there were, the board of directors would of course look into it in the interest of all concerned,” Guillemot said at the time.

This change of heart has likely been followed by corresponding internal preparations in recent months. if Kotaku Based on conversations with “leading current and former Ubisoft developers,” the company has worked closely with outside consultancies to conduct an audit of various areas of the company. Ubisoft is trying to “clean up its books for a possible sale”.

Interest in takeover is growing

Reported independently of this development Bloomberg is currently from the other side of this game: Blackstone and KKR & Co., the largest private equity firms in the world, have been taking a closer look at Ubisoft in recent months and weeks, and this has sparked a “tentative interest in a takeover”. Serious talks have not yet started with interested parties. This is where Kotaku’s sources come into the picture: the ongoing “slow stock price” and “production issues” make it increasingly likely that Ubisoft “will eventually sell to someone.”

The theoretical view of the situation: After the share’s all-time high of EUR 103.45 on July 20, 2018, the price reached EUR 37.25 on April 14, its lowest level in years. Of course, this also increases the pressure on management to reverse the trend here. Potential buyers, on the other hand, maybe able to acquire large stocks more cheaply now than they have in a long time. The coming months are sure to be very exciting for the company.