While Activision may have managed to escape the clutches of Vivendi, attention has now turned to Ubisoft. A few months back, Vivendi began buying up shares in Ubisoft and the publisher's CEO spoke openly about opposing any form of takeover. However, this week, Vivendi bought even more shares in Ubisoft and if it continues, it could end up with a controlling stake.
According to a report from Reuters, a letter to the French stock market regulator shows that Vivendi now holds a 17.73 percent stake in Ubisoft, along with a 15.66 percent share of its voting rights.
Last year, Ubisoft's CEO, Yves Guillemot branded Vivendi's rapid share buying as “unsolicited and unwelcome” and while there are some concerns that a hostile takeover might be under way, according t0 Gamastura, Vivendi has no immediate plans to seek control over Ubisoft or present a public offer for any remaining shares.
Vivendi started this whole thing off by purchasing a ten percent stake in Ubisoft right off the bat for 244 million euros. That stake seems to be steadily rising throughout the course of 2016.
KitGuru Says: As bad as Ubisoft might seem from time to time, a hostile takeover probably won't do the publisher any favours in terms of its franchises.
just when Ubi get things nearly right , The shadow of a greedy Vivendi rises above the parapet
releasing a new broken game is getting things almost right?
They’re improving, anyone who takes a close looks at the game they’ve been releasing would notice. Even if it’s a slight improvement, they’re improving regardless.
For examples, The Division has its problems, but it wasn’t as terrible as Unity, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was more of the same, but it performed better than Unity. Rainbow Six Siege wasn’t the old Rainbow Six but it is a good game, Far Cry Primal had a good premise and while it was more of the same, it didn’t run terrible, it simply wasn’t executed well, but it’s a sign that they’re doing something different. Anno 2205 was good, too.
See, they haven’t released any Outstanding games lately, but they haven’t released something so terribly broken like back in 2014, so they ARE getting things right, gradually, of course. And progress is a good sign.
Vivendi has ambiguous motives so if I have to pick between the two to support, I would rather Ubisoft stays in control of themselves.
10=244,000,000 million
100=2,440,000,000 (guess they only need 51%)
Think not.