After months of speculation that Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent would purchase Ubisoft, we now know that this will not be the case after all.
Instead, Tencent Holdings Ltd will be doubling its stake in Ubisoft with a 300 million euro investment. As part of this Tencent will purchase 49.9% of the shares still held by Ubisoft founders Guillemot Brothers Ltd, at 80 euros a share. Also, Tencent will invest another 100 million euros.
As part of the deal Tencent will not be able to sell its Ubisoft shares for five years. Nor will it be able to increase its stake in Ubisoft further for eight years.
Ubisoft Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot said in a statement,
(The deal) “further reinforces Ubisoft’s core shareholding around its founders and provides the company with the stability essential for its long-term development,”
For his part, Tencent president Martin Lau expressed an interest in bringing more Ubisoft franchises to mobile. It is important to note that in all this that governance of Ubisoft will remain unchanged.
