Tencent and Guillemot Brothers looking to stabilize Ubisoft
Bloomberg reports that Chinese tech company Tencent and Guillemot Brothers Ltd have been speaking with advisers to explore ways to stabilize Ubisoft after share prices fell to their lowest in over a decade. It’s claimed that one of the possibilities being discussed involves Tencent (which owns around 9% of Ubisoft shares) teaming up with the Guillemot family (which holds just over 20% of shares) to take the company private. Bloomberg notes that discussions are at an early stage and that Tencent and the Guillemot family are also considering other alternatives.
Last month, a minority investor called on Ubisoft to replace current CEO Yves Guillemot and take the company private or sell it off to another investor. In a damning open letter, AJ Investments said, “Ubisoft at current state is mismanaged and shareholders are hostages of Guillemot family members and Tencent who take advantage of them.
“Management is focused on pleasing investors with beating quarterly results and not focusing on long-term strategy to provide exceptional experience for the gamers.”
In a recent press release to investors, Yves Guillemot stated Ubisoft’s “second quarter performance fell short of our expectations.” The company has since delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025, vowed to fix Star Wars Outlaws in time for the holiday period, and will be bringing its games back to PC storefront Steam.
