With hard times hitting basically every industry in existence, it’s not really surprising to hear that Ubisoft might be courting potential investors for a new gaming entity. In a report from Bloomberg this morning, it’s been stated that Ubisoft Entertainment SA (the official name of the publisher) is considering selling a minority stakes in a new gaming venture that would include illustrious properties such as Assassin’s Creed. One of the prospective buyers is Tencent Holdings Ltd., which Bloomberg reported last year was eyeing a potential buyout of Ubisoft.
Ubisoft has been in talks with other bidders in and around France and is said to have asked for preliminary bids to be made as soon as this month. As the report states, any potential buyers have asked to remain anonymous. Ubisoft is also supposedly seeking valuation on some yet-to-be-established IP team that is likely to be larger than the main company. As with any story such as things, nothing has been finalized and all of the details noted are suspect to change.
When Bloomberg asked for a comment, a representative from Ubisoft referred the outlet to its quarterly earnings report. The representative stated that this report would help highlight which “transformational strategic and capitalistic options” would help get the best value out of Ubisoft’s assets. Tencent declined to comment on the story.
In the past year following the lead-up to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ eventual launch, I’ve had a sinking suspicion that Ubisoft might be struggling financially. If Assassin’s Creed doesn’t manage to turn a profit, the company might need to sell a bigger portion of itself to remain in business. Seeing that it’s possibly seeking to sell minority stakes in its gaming business lends more validity to my assumption.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
