Guillemot family, founders Ubisoftis considering working with a private equity firm to acquire the company and block potential buyers.
That’s according to a report by Dealreporter (thanks to SeekingAlpha), which states that the deal will allow the Guillemot family to maintain control of Ubisoft.
Currently, the Guillemot family owns 15.9% of the company and 22.3% of the net voting rights. Shares in the company jumped 10% when today’s report came out.
Earlier this year, Ubisoft said that if an offer was made to acquire the company, it would review it for the benefit of all stakeholders; however, company CEO Yves Guillemot stressed that the company has ways to remain independent.
Back in 2015, Ubisoft was the target of an attempted hostile takeover by French media group Vivendi, which has bought more and more shares of the company over three years. At one time, it had a 27.3% stake.
To maintain its independence, Ubisoft has enlisted help from Tencent, a large Chinese conglomerate, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Vivendi eventually agreed to sell its Ubisoft stake and not buy it for the next five years.
However, Vivendi eventually bought Gameloft, another company founded by the Guillemot family, in 2016. It initially held a 6.2 percent stake in Gameloft, and by February of that year it owned 30 percent of the company, sparking hostility. Takeover Offer. Vivendi then began a tender offer to acquire more shares, and in May won the support of most stakeholders and moved forward with the acquisition. By June, it owned 95.94% of the company.
