In October, there were rumors that Ubisoft was considering going private after a difficult year in publishing. Two months later and it appears that negotiations are still ongoing, with Ubisoft and Tencent apparently involved in talks over the terms of the buyout.
This is according to the latest report from Reuterswhich brings new information from “two insiders”. According to the outlet's sources, Ubisoft shareholders are currently considering a potential buyout of the company, but one that still leaves control to the founding Guillemot family.
However, the company's second-largest shareholder, Tencent, is among the names being discussed to take part in the buyout, with the Chinese tech giant reportedly wanting “a greater say in future board decisions including the distribution of cash flow in exchange for funding the deal”.
Of course, there is some friction between these two desired outcomes, with the original Guillemot family and Tencent — which owns nearly 10% of Ubisoft — fighting for control of the company. Reuters reports that talks are still ongoing and no decision has been made at the time of writing.
Tencent is apparently also keen to prevent another hostile takeover by other investors, with the Chinese company keen to “remain patient” and for the Guillemot family to “agree to the deal”.
Earlier this week, Ubisoft reported another wave of layoffs, with hundreds of staff reportedly affected. This is just the latest in a series of cuts at the company, which has already seen more major layoffs in 2024 after reporting a string of poor sales figures.
This includes announcing the development of a free-to-play shooter for PlayStation, Xbox and PC XDefiant want endwith servers shutting down in June 2025.
We will monitor new news on this topic and will keep you updated over the coming months.
