Giant multinational company, Vivendi, has called off its attempt to gain a controlling stake in publishing house Ubisoft and has sold off all existing shares, agreeing it will not attempt to acquire any more in the next few years. In a surprising turnaround however, Chinese giant, Tencent, has announced that it will take on some of that stake.
Vivendi has been trying to forcibly take over Ubisoft for the past three years, buying up stocks from as many individuals and companies as it can, grabbing percent after perfect in a steady plan to reach the magic number of 30 percent which would have given it enough clout to start worming its way into board meetings and other aspects of the company's control. This prompted a scramble from Ubisoft's major shareholders and many company executives, who wanted to retain their hand in where the company was going and they urged as many as possible not to sell to Vivendi, despite attractive offers to do so.
Ultimately though, Vivendi fell short of its perceived goal and after reaching a 27.3 percent stake in the company, has promised to sell it all back to Ubisoft, which is actually a rather positive outcome for the publisher. However, as big as Ubisoft is, it can't afford to buy that much of itself, so it looked outwards to garner the capital necessary. That's where Tencent comes in.
As Kotaku reports, alongside the Chinese publisher, the Ontario Teachers' pension fund will also be contributing some money towards the buyout, which will ultimately be worth $2.45 billion. That's more than twice what Vivendi itself paid for all of that stock, so it comes out a winner in this deal too.
Still, Ubisoft appears to be the most pleased about this turnaround, with president and CEO, Yves Guillemot saying in a statement (via Kotaku): "The evolution in our shareholding is great news for Ubisoft. 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."
