Ubisoft: Report: Tencent wants to become the largest shareholder

In the past, Ubisoft has always been a candidate when it came to possible takeovers by industry heavyweights. Now a new rumor is doing the rounds in this direction.

In the past, Ubisoft has sometimes stubbornly resisted planned (hostile) takeovers and primarily wanted to remain independent. Nevertheless, there was always speculation about Ubisoft as a takeover candidate for larger companies in the industry. The renowned magazine Reuters is now starting new speculation in this direction.

According to this, the Chinese giant Tencent is said to be flirting with acquir ing further shares in Ubisoft. This does not necessarily have to be a complete takeover of the developer and publisher, but at least the Chinese conglomerate wants to become Ubisoft’s largest shareholder.

Tencent had already acquired a 5 percent stake in Ubisoft in 2018. It is currently unclear to what extent this proportion is actually planned to be increased. The fact that there are corresponding considerations applies loudly Reuters however, citing sources familiar with the matter as secured.

To become the largest single shareholder in Ubisoft, Tencent appears to want to pay a per-share price well above the current market price. According to the report, a price of up to $101.84 is conceivable, which corresponds to a whopping 127 percent premium to the average price of $44.81 over the last three months. The offer is to be made to free shareholders in Ubisoft, who hold around 80 percent of the company.

The largest single shareholder of the company, which is valued at $5.3 billion, is the Guillemot family, which Ubisoft also founded. This brings it to 15.9 percent of the shares, which are associated with a voting right of 22.3 percent. It is currently not known how the Guillemot family actually stands on the Tencent plans. However, senior Tencent officials are said to have flown to France in May to discuss the plans with the Guillemot family.

With such a step, Tencent would further expand its own market position in the games business. The China giant already owns stakes in Epic Games, Riot Games, Sumo Digital, Supercell, Dontnod, Frontier Developments, Yager, Klei Entertainment, Funcom and others.