It wants a seat at the table
Vivendi seemingly has its sights set on Ubisoft, and it doesn’t look ready to back down. After an initial investment of $161 million last week, Vivendi just spent approximately another $111 million on Ubisoft stock.
That second stock acquisition bumped Vivendi’s stake in the French publisher up from 6.6 percent to 10.39 percent. Along with the Ubisoft purchase, Vivendi again invested in Gameloft, raising its ownership from 6.2 percent to 10.2 percent. The two video game companies are connected in that they were both founded by Michael Guillemot.
The purchase is detailed in a press release published by Vivendi. In it, Vivendi makes it clear that it’s possibly looking to own enough of the two companies as to be represented on their boards of directors. That would obviously give it enough input to partially influence decision-making.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently sent around an internal email calling the Vivendi investment “unsolicited and unwelcome.” It’s unknown if that was in response to the initial or second purchase; Vivendi acquired more stake on October 20, and word of Guillemot’s email was published by GamesIndustry International on October 21. However, the actual date of the email wasn’t reported.
It’s worth noting that Ubisoft isn’t earning any additional money on Vivendi’s investment. Vivendi’s buying up existing stock from shareholders, and Ubisoft hasn’t issued any additional stock. It’s easy to see why it doesn’t sit well with Guillemot that a single entity is buying up large swathes of his company. Vivendi looks aggressive and relentless in its pursuit of Ubisoft. Something tells me we haven’t heard the end of this saga.
Vivendi increases its equity interest in Ubisoft and Gameloft [Vivendi]
