Ubisoft Reportedly In Search For Private Company To Buyout The Firm To Stop Further Takeover Attempts

Ubisoft in recent years remains to be a conglomerate of entertainment. The firm standing for close to three decades has remained a pinnacle with new projects and now some legacy properties making a return moving forward. This year, the publisher revealed it is to release a complete reboot for the Splinter Cell IP, but no release date has been released alongside what the direction this new title will be pursuing exactly.

The company, while profitable also has been in the crosshairs of acquisition for sometime by larger firms and hedge funds. If you may recall from a few years back with Vivendi attempting to buyout Ubisoft before the publisher managed to free itself from its grips. But, new reports continue to surface in recent weeks indicating that the previous fate is returning with a possibly new firm.

According to a transcript from Seeking Alpha, the Guillemot Family released new information on the matter. More specifically, Ubisoft is now in search for a private company it feels suited to be in its possession of the refrain from buyout claimed by recent reports.

“French videogame publisher Ubisoft (OTCPK:UBSFY) rose 10% on a report that the company’s founding family is considering partnering with a private equity firm to acquire the company,” the publication reveals in the report. Although the firm is not against a buyout, Guillemots still want to remain in control of the firm without its new owners overtaking operations. Previous reports said Blackstone & KKR were interested, but with no serious bids of the firm.

More notably, the story follows the ongoing string of acquisitions that are ringing across the industry. For one, Microsoft’s big purchase for Activision Blizzard is one worth noting. Additionally, Sony Interactive Entertainment also has its hands in minor purchases like Haven Entertainment Studios and the biggest for Bungie more recently.

Elsewhere, Take-Two Interactive also makes a large buy for mobile conglomerate Zynga. Prior to the Microsoft deal, it was the largest purchase ever in the industry costing the firm roughly $12 billion at the time. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you surprised with the direction Ubisoft plans to follow moving forward?

Source: Seeking Alpha