Ubisoft announced today via press release that Tencent has acquired a new minority stake in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the company run by Ubisoft’s co-founders.
Axios’ Stephen Totilo reports that Tencent will not obtain board seats at Ubisoft or Guillet Brothers. They will be allowed to double their stake in Ubisoft, up to 9.99%. In addition, Tencent will bring “several” Ubisoft AAA games to both the PC and mobile platforms in China.
News broke last month that Tencent was attempting to raise its stake in Ubisoft. Today’s report indicates that they have accomplished that.
“The expansion of the concert with Tencent further reinforces Ubisoft’s core shareholding around its founders and provides the company with the stability essential for its long-term development,” said Yves Guillemot, CEO and Co-Founder of Ubisoft.
“In a context where platforms and business models are converging, this transaction, which validates our strategy and highlights the strong intrinsic value of the assets we have built over the long term, is excellent news for our teams, gamers and shareholders. Tencent is a key shareholder partner for many of the industry’s leaders, who have created some of the most outstanding video games. This transaction reinforces our ability to create strong value over the coming years.”
This isn’t the only time Tencent has been in the news regarding obtaining stakes in big-name studios. Combined with Sony Interactive, Tencent acquired 30% of FromSoftware last week.
“The team at Ubisoft has shown an impressive ability to consistently create world-class entertainment along with a diverse portfolio of brands that include some of the most successful franchises in the industry,” said Martin Lau, President of Tencent. “We are excited to expand our engagement with the founders, the Guillemot family, as Ubisoft continues to develop immersive game experiences, and to bring some of Ubisoft’s most well-known AAA franchises to mobile. This agreement also aligns with our philosophy to invest alongside creative founders with full confidence that they will lead their companies to new heights.”
Ubisoft is best known for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The series’ next entry, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, was recently confirmed, with more details to be revealed soon. Other key Ubisoft franchises are the Tom Clancy series of video games, which include Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry.
The video game industry has recently been on a spending spree regarding studio acquisitions. Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard in January for $70 billion, which seemed to kickstart everything. Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in January as well, with the deal recently being approved and becoming official.
The Embracer Group acquired Eidos and Crystal Dynamics in May and the rights to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
