Vivendi, the multi-media conglomerate, have once again increased their stake in Ubisoft days after E3 2016. This information comes right after the news of Vivendi recently acquiring Gameloft, Ubisoft’s sister publisher. Vivendi’s takeover of Gameloft took place via a hostile takeover (where one company targets another company’s shareholders).
The number of Ubisoft shares purchased by Vivendi continues to rise, despite Ubisoft’s ongoing reluctance to be part of a larger company. Right now Vivendi currently owns 20.1 percent of Ubisoft’s stock, up from 17.7 percent.
“Vivendi continues to hope for the establishment of a fruitful collaboration with Ubisoft,” the company said in the statement. Vivendi have claimed it does not plan to make a bid or take control of Ubisoft for the next six months.
Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot has stated many times in the past that he does not want the company to be taken over, most recently at Ubisoft’s 2016 E3 press conference. Although Guillemot did not outright say ”I do not want Vivendi to take over Ubisoft”, his speech at the end of the press conference where he thanks the fans alludes to the takeover. As everyone knows, Vivendi had nothing to do with Ubisoft’s success in recent years, and now they are being bought out by a much larger company.
