Ubisoft’s share price rose 11% on Friday following new claims that the Assassin’s Creed company is attracting interest in the takeover.
According to a Bloomberg report, several private equity firms, including Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co., investigated the game publisher according to its sources.
“Ubisoft has not entered into any serious negotiations with potential buyers and it is unclear whether its major shareholder is willing to pursue a deal,” the publication states.
Ubisoft declined to comment on any acquisition interests.
Ubisoft is one of the largest third-party game publishers in the world and owns brands such as Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Just Dance.
The French company has been the subject of much speculation in recent months, following a growing trend towards consolidation in the gaming industry.
M&A activity in the gaming industry hit a record $ 85 billion in 2021 and has been predicted to reach $ 150 billion this year, with huge deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Take-Twos’ acquisition of Zynga already announced in the 2022 opening months .
Ubisoft was asked in an earnings call in February if it thought it would be able to guarantee access to the various gaming platforms it publishes its games on in the future if it were to withstand any of the consolidation happening in the industry. CEO Yves Guillemot said he thinks it would.
“We will continue to have access to all of these platforms because all platforms need great content. If we continue to make great content like we do today, we will be able to access all of these platforms.” he said.
“If we look at Nintendo … we’re the biggest third party publisher on it. Nintendo is interested in everything we do and [we are] themselves develop games with their brands so that the collaboration exists and it is very fruitful. ”
The director said he believed Ubisoft could remain independent, but that any offer to buy the company would be reviewed in the interest of its stakeholders.