Tencent looking to become the "the single largest shareholder" in Ubisoft - report
The company plans to offer Ubisoft a sum "way above" its current stock price.
Chinese conglomerate Tencent has plans to acquire more shares in Ubisoft, according to sources familiar with the matter.
A reported by Reuters, the firm has expressed interest in increasing its stake in the game maker. Back in 2018, it acquired a 5% stake in Ubisoft, and as of press time, it's unclear how much more of a stake Tencent plans to purchase, but it wants to become the single largest shareholder.
Currently valued at $5.3 billion, the Guillemot family, who founded Ubisoft, owns 15.9% of company shares and 22.3% of the net voting shares. It's said Tencent could offer up to $101.84 per share to gain additional stakes - a premium of 127% to the stock's $44.81 average price over the past three months.
Tencent will also seek to acquire shares from public shareholders who own approximately 80% of Ubisoft. To that end, Tencent plans to make a "non-binding offer" to Ubisoft with the basic terms and conditions of an investment. Senior executives even flew to France in May to meet the Guillemot family to discuss the purchase.
Tencent owns stakes in many videogame companies such as Epic Games, Riot Games, Sumo Digital, Supercell, Dontnod, Frontier Developments, Yager, Klei Entertainment, Funcom, and has invested in many others.