‘Fight to preserve our independence’
As it turns out, not everyone’s always happy to receive $161 million. That’s the case with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot (and other staff) after Vivendi bought 6.6 percent stake in the French publisher.
In an internal email obtained by GamesIndustry International, Guillemot called the investment “unsolicited and unwelcome.” He also pointed out how Vivendi has a history of “aggressively pursuing companies within the entertainment sector.” There are concerns among Ubisoft employees that this investment was just a first-buy for Vivendi toward eventually gaining a majority control.
Guillemot is specifically worried that a Vivendi takeover would mean that Ubisoft is controlled by a group that “[doesn’t] understand our expertise and what it takes to succeed in this industry.” He asserts that Ubisoft will “fight to preserve [its] independence,” and that this unwanted investment shouldn’t distract the company from its game-making goals.
Vivendi is most notable in the games industry for once owning the majority of Activision. Two years ago, Activision paid more than $8 billion to regain its independence. That won’t be the path Ubisoft takes if Guillemot has anything to say about it.
Ubisoft: “We’re going to fight to preserve our independence” [GamesIndustry International]
