Few industries are as competitive as the gaming industry. Gaming companies have to focus on delivering regular content in the form of IPs, on gauging the exact time when a game coming out will be received best, and to watch out for competitors trying to take them over. One of the biggest names in gaming is currently scared, as Vivendi is trying to hostilely take over Ubisoft.
Vivendi vs. Guillemot
Paris-based media conglomerate Vivendi, once-owners of Activision, have been recently going after the Guillemot brothers. The owners of Ubisoft didn’t even bother to pretend not being scared, as they requested help from pretty anyone willing to offer it.
Apparently, the music, TV, and film company that is Vivendi wants to go back into the gaming business and decided to start their new venture by taking over fellow French entertainment company Ubisoft. They did this by purchasing stocks, without even talking to the Guillemot brothers first.
So far, Vivendi purchased 15% of the company’s shares, and they are going for more. If they are to become the majority shareholder, seeing as no talks of a peaceful acquisition took place, it would actually be a hostile takeover.
But it would look like there might be something more personal going on, as the company hasn’t only gone after Ubisoft. The mobile gaming company Gameloft, also owned by the Guillemot brothers, already had 30% of its shares acquisitioned by Vivendi.
Requesting assistance
Ubisoft’s owners are not taking the threat lightly. Yves Guillemot has already talked to newspaper websites such as The Globe and Mail that the company is looking for Canadian investors. They’re particularly interested in investors willing to support Ubisoft for the long haul.
The brothers continued by saying that they feel like getting investors would be a good defense, as it would give them more control over the company’s future. However, even if investors do come and buy stocks, a better offer from Vivendi could turn the tide even faster.
It is yet unknown what sparked this extended conflict between the two companies, even though it looks like it was a long time brewing. The fact that Vivendi started purchasing the Guillemot’s stocks all of a sudden and in such large amounts means that this was their plan for a long while, and that they don’t really plan on stopping.
Also, if Ubisoft does get hostilely taken over, it’s unknown what will happen to the tens of thousands of employees the company has all over the world, and even more so regarding what will happen to the company’s long-standing, albeit overdone IPs.
Image source: DeviantArt
