China’s Tencent wants to buy Ubisoft after falling shares, sales and delayed game releases

Tencent and the Guillaume family are considering a buyout of Ubisoft after the French game developer’s market value has fallen significantly. The move could be a strategic move to stabilize the company, whose shares have fallen about 40% this year, reducing its market capitalization to $2 billion. Tencent already owns 9.2% of Ubisoft’s net voting rights, while the Guillaume family controls about 20, 5%

Some minority shareholders, including AJ Investments, are calling for Ubisoft to be sold to a strategic investor or taken private amid falling share prices. Amid these developments, Ubisoft shares rose 33% on Friday, although they hit their lowest level in more than a decade last month due to a delay in the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and weak sales.

According to the contract between Tencent and the Guillaume family, the Chinese company is limited to a 10% stake with no operational veto and cannot sell its shares for five years.