The acquisitions race has heated up to the extent that even the big third party publishers out there look ripe for the plucking. Microsoft has gobbled up Bethesda and will be finalizing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by summer next year. Square Enix just sold off the bulk of its western business to the Embracer Group. Leaks about WB Games being sold off piecemeal refuse to go away.
Another name that’s been linked with acquisition reports heavily is Ubisoft, a company that, much like Activision, has been in hot water for some time now, and as such, looks like a prime candidate for acquisition by one of the bigger companies. But according to Ubisoft itself, there’s no real danger of that happening.
In the company’s recent quarterly earnings call (via PC Gamer), CEO Yves Guillemot stressed that Ubisoft has everything it needs to retain its independence.
There has been a lot of talk around consolidation in the industry, and Ubisoft in particular,” he said. “Our overall position is clear and well known: As we said last February, we have everything we need to remain independent. We have the talent, the industrial and the financial scale, and a large portfolio of powerful IPs to create massive value in the coming years.”
If anything, Guillemot says incessant reports about Ubisoft being up for acquisition are only serving to “put in plain sight the real appeal and value of our assets and our value creation potential.”
Additionally, echoing similar recent statements, he has also said that as a publicly traded company, if Ubisoft should get a buyout offer, it will be “standard practice” for it to review and consider the offer.
“I’ve mentioned before, as a publicly listed company, it is standard practice for our board to review any offer in the interest of all shareholders and of our creative teams,” Guillemot said.
A recent report claimed that Ubisoft was considering partnering with a private equity firm in order to block any potential takeover bids in the future. Read more on that through here.