Chinese technology giant Tencent is increasing its stake in Ubisoft, the developer and publisher of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, increasing its industrial footprint.
Tencent is taking a bigger stake in Ubisoft, a major player in the games industry. The Chinese conglomerate has recently been aggressively increasing its footprint in the games industry. In addition to acquiring a more significant stake in Ubisoft, Tencent has invested in everything from game companies Tequila Works and FromSoftware to the patenting of 2D video conversion systems.
Ubisoft has often been in the spotlight over the years for takeover prospects.
Before 2018, it faced a hostile takeover by Vivendi. Then in May, the Guillemot family reportedly blocked another takeover attempt by Ubisoft. Meanwhile, Tencent has also had its eye on the company for some time and was previously thought to be looking to increase its stake in the company with the idea of becoming – or even owning – its largest shareholder.
The company is investing €300 million in Guillemot Bros, which owns a 49.9% stake in the company led by Ubisoft’s co-founders. This would bring Guillemot Bros’ stake in the company to 29.9%, while the combined stake with Tencent’s would mean that the two entities would own a large part of the French company’s shares. However, the new investment will not give Tencent a board seat in either Guillemot Bros or the makers of Assassin’s Creed.
Furthermore, Tencent can now more than double its stake in Ubisoft to 9.99%, although the company cannot sell its shares for five years.
Following the investment, the Chinese conglomerate will also bring several of Ubisoft’s AAA games to mobile in China, along with some of the publisher’s PC games. While specific details are unknown, the announcement aligns with the company’s mobile gaming ambitions, especially considering Tencent’s partnership with Logitech for a handheld gaming console.
In related news, Ubisoft is currently preparing for the big Ubisoft Forward event on September 10, where further details of the much-talked-about Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be revealed, along with several other titles such as Skull and Bones. Meanwhile, the French company has also informed fans that it plans to discontinue online services for some of its older games and has extended the deadline for several of those titles by a month. It will be interesting to see what direction the company takes in the coming times.
Source: TechUpdate, Twitter
NEWS: Tencent is NOT buying Ubisoft. But it is investing heavily in the company, announcing a new €300 million (about the same in $$) investment—49.9% stake—in Guillemot Bros, the company run by Ubisoft’s co-founders that has the largest stake in Ubisoft.
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) September 6, 2022
