Tencent increases its stake in Ubisoft's parent company Guillemot Bros.

Tencent is increasing its stake in French game developer Ubisoft. Chinese game publisher invested $300 million in Ubisoft parent company Guillemot Bros and now owns 49.9% of it. This development also means Tencent earned 5% voting rights in Guillemot Brothers Limited.

Tencent is increasing its minority stake in Ubisoft with this deal. The gaming entity owns 4.5% of Ubisoft’s shares, but after this agreement, it will go up to 9.99%. However, Tencent won’t be able to increase its stakes in the upcoming eight years.

In the official statement Yves Guillemot, CEO and Co-Founder of Ubisoft, said:

“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.”
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.”

Last month, it was rumored that Tencent wanted to buy more stakes in Ubisoft and become the company’s biggest shareholder. According to Reuters, “Tencent has reached out to the French firm’s founding Guillemot family and expressed interest in increasing its stake in the firm.” It was also mentioned that they were willing to pay €100 per share to reach this goal.

Unlike Vivendi, Tencent did not try to takeovers the company against the Guillemot family’s will. The French mass media company tried hard between 2015 and 2018. Later in 2019, the companies managed to reach an agreement, and Vivendi has completely given up all of its holdings in Ubisoft.

According to Ubisoft’s financial report, the French gaming company is declining. Many games and in-game content has been delayed during the year. Four video games project were shut down while two more were delayed. It is expected that Ubisoft will reveal more about its upcoming projects soon.