Ubisoft has been in an unprecedentedly rough fiscal period over the last couple of years, and with things seemingly going from bad to worse, the company has reportedly continued exploring various options. Interestingly enough, one of those options seems to be selling some of its biggest IPs to other major players in the industry.
That’s as per an IGN report, which cites Juraj Krúpa, CEO of hedge fund AJ Investments – which owns a minority stake in Ubisoft. He claims the company has had some discussions with Microsoft, EA, and “others” regarding potential IP sales – discussions that it seemingly did not inform shareholders or the public about.
In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft has said that it is considering “various transformational strategic and capitalistic options” and that it is “extracting the best value from Ubisoft’s assets and franchises for all stakeholders.”
“As we mentioned during our Q3 sales, the review of various transformational strategic and capitalistic options is ongoing,” the company says. “The Board has established an ad-hoc independent Committee to oversee this formal and competitive process so as to extract the best value from Ubisoft’s assets and franchises for all stakeholders. Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materialises.”
Ubisoft’s treasure trove of IP will doubtless have the eyeballs of many in the industry on it. It owns properties such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rayman, and of course, the entire Tom Clancy license, all of which would attract plenty of interest in the scenario of a sale.
AJ Investments has been outspoken about Ubisoft’s internal issues and the company’s struggles for a while. Last September, the hedge fund called out the company’s mismanagement and demanded it go private. Read more on that through here.
