Ubisoft Buyout Stalemate: Tencent and Guillemot Brothers at an Impasse Over Strategic Support
The Guillemot family aims to maintain control over management, while Tencent seeks a greater influence on future board appointments.
Ubisoft’s two primary shareholders continue to disclose potential buyout discussions that might keep the Assassin’s Creed publisher private. However, a new report indicates there is disagreement regarding control of the company moving forward.
According to sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Reuters, Guillemot Brothers Ltd — led by the family of the same name, including Ubisoft co-founder and long-time CEO Yves Guillemot — aims to retain its current control over Ubisoft post-deal.
Conversely, Tencent is reportedly delaying its participation in the buyout and increasing its stake in Ubisoft until it is guaranteed a larger role in future board decisions.
Negotiations between the two parties are ongoing, partly to prevent any other investors from executing a hostile takeover of Ubisoft. Sources from Reuters indicate that Tencent intends to be patient and wait for the Guillemot family to agree to its conditions.
Tencent declined to comment on Reuters’ request, and the Guillemot family has not responded.
Talk of a potential buyout first surfaced in October, following several financial challenges at Ubisoft, including the underwhelming performance of Star Wars Outlaws. A minority shareholder even called for Ubisoft to go private after the publisher’s stock price plummeted significantly following Outlaws’ release.
In September, Ubisoft reduced its financial…