Buyout Looms amid Ubisoft’s Financial Issues

Bloomberg has reported that Tencent Holdings Ltd. is in discussions with Ubisoft on possibly buying out the video game developer as it has lost over half of its market value this year. In the last month, Ubisoft has been going through tough times with games like Star Wars Outlaws which has received mixed reviews, and recently the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

The outlet shared that Tencent and Ubisoft have been speaking with their advisers to find ways to stabilize the company and boost its value. Their sources indicated that they have talked about involving a partnership to take the company private.

“One of the possibilities being discussed would involve teaming up to take the company private, according to the people.”

Ubisoft’s shares have dropped nearly 40%, but after the Bloomberg report, shares surged by 33% in Paris.

Minority shareholders including AJ Investments have also been pushing for a sale of Ubisoft after the stock has plunged. The belief is that a sale to the right investor will help Ubisoft’s value rise.

2024 hasn’t been too kind to Ubisoft as it started with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and shortly after that was Skull & Bones which took several years to release and has been underwhelming. XDefiant looked to be a step in the right direction, but leading up to the release there were apparently issues internally.

It will be interesting to see what comes next for Ubisoft as many of us don’t know what to expect if they do get bought out.

Source: Bloomberg