This Monday, 3.5% of Ubisoft shares became the property of Guillemot Brothers SE. The company belongs to the family of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. The purpose of the purchase is to protect against a hostile takeover by the Vivendi conglomerate.
Guillemot Brothers SE acquired 4 million (3.5%) shares of Ubisoft. The value of the transaction is estimated at 161 million. The purchase was made with the support of an unknown bank. The total share of Ubisoft shares owned by the Guillemot family reached 12.5%.
The deal is seen by analysts as a way to protect Ubisoft, which was created by the five Guillemot brothers in 1986, from a hostile takeover by Vivendi. This French conglomerate began acquiring shares of the company in June. However, Vivendi representatives promised that they would not buy out a controlling stake in Ubisoft until December 2016.
Vivendi has previously made a hostile takeover of a company owned by the Guillemot family.
Since the beginning of the year, the French conglomerate has acquired 96% of Gameloft shares. As a result of these actions, the company’s head, Michel Guillemot, left the company.
Source: Bloomberg