Bloomberg has reported that several private equity firms have attracted interest in a takeover of video game publisher Ubisoft from buyout funds. Ubisoft has said that they have not engaged in any serious negotiations with anyone at the moment. According to people with knowledge of the matter, it is unclear whether or not Ubisoft is willing to make a deal. Blackstone Inc and KKR & Co. are two of the firms showing interest and have been studying the French business.
According to the people, the deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty that any of the suitors will proceed with offers.
Ubisoft and representatives for Blackstone and KKR have declined to comment on the situation; However, Ubisoft said that it has built a strong portfolio and is ideally positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities amid rapid growth in the industry.
In recent years, there has been a multitude of acquisitions. The biggest was Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard. Prior to this, Microsoft bought number of other studios and made them a part of the Xbox Game Studios family. Embracer Group has also bought up a lot of studios and it has been reported that they plan to acquire more. PlayStation has also bolstered its numbers with a number of acquisitions too, one of the biggest being Bungie.
There has been consolidation within the industry as more and more developers become a part of a family and it seems to have no plans to slow down anytime soon.
This is not the only time Ubisoft has dealt with situations of a possible takeover. The company had been fighting back against hostile takeover with the company Vivendi before they backed away and sold its remaining stock of the company.
In Ubisoft’s recent earnings call, CEO Yves Guillemot said, “Ubisoft can remain independent…Our IPs are sought after by the biggest global players in entertainment and tech. Having said that, if there were an offer to buy us, the board of directors would of course review it in the interest of all stakeholders.”