There are rumors about the French publisher that, frankly, we’ve been expecting, but there are also rumors that have almost no chance of happening!

Two Reuters sources have reported that Ubisoft shareholders are considering a possible takeover. The Guillemot family, who are the founders and largest shareholders of Ubisoft (this used to be the case with Gameloft, which was bought by French media giant Vivendi, but not Ubisoft), and Tencent (which has a 10% stake in the publisher), as well as other shareholders, have been in talks in recent weeks to make a management-led buyout a reality.

But there’s a catch, and this is where the cake and eating it story makes sense. So Yves Guillemots wants the Chinese tech giant to buy Ubisoft, but they want to stay at the helm of the company. Tencent hasn’t decided yet if it wants to get involved, so it’s not fixed if it will increase its stake, and it wants a bigger say in board decisions in exchange for a higher percentage… but the Guillemot family hasn’t agreed to that!

Negotiations are ongoing so that Tencent can prevent a hostile takeover by the other shareholders (so the Chinese company wants others not to step in and take a bigger stake). According to an anonymous source, Tencent’s plan is to wait and let Ubisoft’s situation deteriorate until the Guillemots agree to the deal under duress. Neither Tencent nor the Guillemot family have commented on the matter, and a spokesperson for Ubisoft has given the typical response (decisions are made in the interest of all shareholders and the company is constantly evaluating its strategic options).

So we’re getting to the point where Ubisoft will indeed be acquired by Tencent (a big catch for the Chinese) and the publisher will be delisted.

Source: Gematsu