The investment fund AJ Investments, which holds a minority stake in Ubisoft, published an open letter to the executives of the French company and its other shareholders. It expressed a "deep dissatisfaction with the current activities and strategic direction" of Ubisoft.
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The shareholder labeled Ubisoft as an undervalued company. In their view, Ubisoft shares should be priced at 40-45 euros each, whereas the current market offers significantly less. They added that over the last year, the company's stock value has plummeted by more than 40%, while competitor stocks have increased in value.
According to AJ Investments, the cause is ineffective leadership. Ubisoft’s top management is more concerned with showing attractive numbers in quarterly reports than focusing on the company’s long-term growth. Furthermore, the shareholder asserts that the Guillemot family and Tencent are deliberately undervaluing Ubisoft’s market worth to eventually acquire as much stock as possible at a lower price.
AJ Investments urged Ubisoft to:
1. replace current executives, including CEO Yves Guillemot. In general, conduct further staff reductions, optimize expenses, consider selling some studios, and focus on working with key IPs;
2. make Ubisoft a private company by delisting it from the stock exchange. Tencent should remain an important partner;
3. sell Ubisoft. The buyer could be either the Guillemot family along with Tencent or an external company.
AJ Investments emphasized that various minority shareholders own 70% of Ubisoft. The fund intends to persuade them to oppose the current company leadership if it does not support the expressed proposals.