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Back in October 2015, Vivendi began what appeared to be a takeover of Ubisoft when they purchased 10% of all Ubisoft's stocks. In June 2016, Vivendi upped their ownership to a bit over 20%. As of April 2017, Vivendi owned 25% of Ubisoft and were allegedly eyeing a takeover of the company late in 2017.Cut to the present, March 2018, and Vivendi has sold off all of their stock in Ubisoft, which represented 27.3% of Ubisoft's capital. The main buyer was Guillemot Brothers SE, meaning that Ubisoft is back to its original founders. However, roughly 8% of Ubisoft has been picked up by two others. These include the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (3.4%) and Tencent (5%). Yes, it probably would've been more amusing if Tencent had actually purchased 10% of Ubisoft, but it is what it is.
"The evolution in our shareholding is great news for Ubisoft," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot in a statment. "It was made possible thanks to the outstanding execution of our strategy and the decisive support of Ubisoft talents, players and shareholders. I would like to warmly thank them all.
"The investment from new long-term shareholders in Ubisoft demonstrates their trust in our future value creation potential, and Ubisoft`s share buy-back will be accretive to all shareholders. Finally, the new strategic partnership agreement we signed will enable Ubisoft to accelerate its development in China in the coming years and fully leverage a market with great potential."
"The investment from new long-term shareholders in Ubisoft demonstrates their trust in our future value creation potential, and Ubisoft`s share buy-back will be accretive to all shareholders. Finally, the new strategic partnership agreement we signed will enable Ubisoft to accelerate its development in China in the coming years and fully leverage a market with great potential."
As part of this deal, Vivendi has agreed not to purchase any shares of Ubisoft for the next five years.
