Chinese technology and gaming giant Tencent and the Guillemot family are reportedly in talks to purchase French games publisher and developer Ubisoft in a deal that would take the company private.
The report comes via Bloomberg citing “people familiar with the matter,” but follows months of speculation over Ubisoft’s future after the company was forced to lower its revenue expectations for its upcoming flagship gaming title, “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.”
A Ubisoft buyout
Ubisoft is a publicly traded company whose primary shareholders are its founders, members of the Guillemot family, and Tencent.
While details are scarce, Bloomberg reports that the talks involve taking the company private. Presumably, this would work in much the same way as Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout, which took the then-public social media private as it rebranded to X social media.
As a private company, Ubisoft would no longer be beholden to shareholders nor required to disclose its earnings publicly. However, it’s unclear exactly what position Tencent or the Guillemot family would hold.
It’s possible that Yves Guillemot, the company’s current CEO and one of its co-founders, would seek a deal that retains his family’s interest as the primary controlling owner. This would allow Ubisoft to continue operating with the financial backing of Tencent, China’s most valuable company, while remaining under its current management.
Related: China’s most valuable company pivoting to AI as gaming profits falter
Web3 and Blockchain
It’s unclear at this time whether the talks are serious. Cointelegraph reached out to Ubisoft and Tencent but did not receive an immediate response from either company.
However, the timing of the buyout makes sense. Ubisoft shares appear to have rebounded by more than 30% in the wake of the rumored buyout after plummeting by more than half over the past 12 months.
In the event such a buyout were to occur, it’s possible the two companies could serve as an international coalition of crypto and blockchain-friendly AAA gaming organizations. While other gaming firms such as Japan’s Square-Enix and Korea’s Pearl Abyss are also invested in Web3 and blockchain-based gaming, Ubisoft and Tencent have been early movers in their respective spaces when it comes to adoption.
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