Ubisoft announces it is selling a minority passive stake of Guillemot Brothers Ltd. to Tencent. They are buying the stake for $297.2 million. Under the deal, the companies said that Ubisoft will make more of its franchises available on mobile devices.
At the time of reporting, Tencent has acquired a 49.9% economic stake in Guillemot Brothers Ltd., but it apparently only has 5% of the voting rights. Tencent is paying $297.2 million for the stake, with two-thirds of that in share increase and a third in capital increase. That values Ubisoft at $79.28 a share. That’s far above Ubisoft’s current trading price of $43.50 a share, which values the company at $5.3 billion. Tencent’s purchase values Ubisoft at $9.755 billion.
The agreement signed with Tencent reflects Ubisoft’s rich portfolio of assets. Ubisoft’s IP include Assassin’sCreed, Beyond Good & Evil, The Crew, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Far Cry, For Honor, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Hungry Shark, Just Dance, Might & Magic, Prince of Persia, Rabbids, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Rayman, Splinter Cell, Trackmania and Watch Dogs.
The company’s proprietary technologies include its cutting-edge engines (Anvil and Snowdrop), its online services and distribution platform (Ubisoft Connect), and Ubisoft’s rapidly expanding video game hosting business (i3D.net).
