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Vivendi Continues Push To Acquire Ubisoft Stock
Vivendi has spent several months pushing for greater control of Ubisoft, and the heads of Ubisoft have very publicly decried the moves as unwelcome. As we reported in September, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told The Wall Street Journal that: "We won't relax until they sell their shares...The creeping control strategy implemented by Vivendi is dangerous. We think that there’s a great risk of shareholders losing value."
It doesn’t sound as if Vivendi is ready to give up its efforts. The most recent news from the ongoing financial drama is that Vivendi has increased its control of Ubisoft stock to 24.1%. According to Niko Partners analyst, Daniel Ahmad, that gives Vivendi 21.3% voting rights moving forward.
This latest move from Vivendi continues to indicate an aggressive pursuit of control in Ubisoft’s affairs. The move once again puts Ubisoft’s leadership into a position where they’ll need to play defense against Vivendi’s ongoing efforts for control.
We have reached out to Ubisoft for comment about the situation, and will update if we hear a response.
To more fully understand what’s been happening between Vivendi and Ubisoft, check out a comprehensive primer from earlier this year.
[Source: BFM TV, Daniel Ahmad via Twitter]
Our Take
Vivendi has been no stranger to aggressive action against other gaming companies in recent years, including a hostile takeover of Gameloft. It will be interesting to see if Ubisoft has any additional tricks up its sleeve to ward off these unwelcome advances.
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