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Guillemot Brothers and Tencent reportedly considering Ubisoft buyout

Guillemot Brothers and Tencent reportedly considering Ubisoft buyout

Chinese games giant Tencent and Guillemot Brothers Ltd are reportedly in discussions over ways to right the ship at Ubisoft. 

Bloomberg reports that the two companies have been in talks with advisors about how to proceed, though does not that these discussions are at the early stage.

This new comes in the wake of AJ Investments, a minority shareholder, calling for Ubisoft to be bought out, perhaps even to Tencent, due to the French firm's declining share price amid other issues. 

Tencent acquired a five per cent stake in Ubisoft back in 2018, before snapping up a stake in Guillemot Brothers Ltd, through which it indirectly increased its slice of the French publishing giant. 

In a statement to GI.biz, Ubisoft said that these talks are nothing of note as of yet. 

"Ubisoft has noted recent press speculation regarding potential interests around the Company," a spokesperson said. 

"It regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of its stakeholders and will inform the market if and when appropriate.

"The Company reiterates that management is currently focused on executing its strategy, centered on two core verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences."


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.