Ubisoft has been seeing a bid for a hostile takeover from French media conglomerate Vivendi for a while, now, and Ubisoft’s top brass, including the Guillemot brothers, have been trying their very best to resist and counter Vivendi’s push. They’ve bargained with and lobbied other shareholders, promising incentives and better returns for them should they hold on to their stock- and apparently, they are also increasing their own stake in the company.
Bloomberg reports that the Guillemot family has acquired an additional four million shares worth 144 million euros, bringing their total stake in the publishing giant up by 3.5 per cent. They are also apparently going to lobby shareholders and investors at the Shareholder meeting on September 29, promising better returns should the company be allowed to remain independent.
“We are seeing a race between Vivendi and Guillemot brothers,” Charles-Louis Planade, head of research at Louis Capital Markets – Midcap Partners, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. “If Vivendi wants Ubisoft, it will have to pay for it.”
Given how relentless Vivendi have been, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Me, I am hoping that Ubisoft manage to stay independent. They do bring a unique flavor with them to the industry that would be sorely missed.