Tencent Acquires Economic Stake In Ubisoft's Family Holding, Partnership Will Cover "Development Of Mobile Titles"

Tencent is on track to acquire a 49.9% economic stake with 5% voting rights in Guillemot Brothers Limited. They've invested approximately $297 million in Guillemot Brothers Limited and were authorized by Ubisoft to raise its stake directly from 4.5% to 9.99% of the capital or voting rights in the publisher. It isn't surprising to see this partnership following the Chinese media giant seeking to buy shares from Ubisoft last month.

Even though Tencent has the authorization to raise its stake in Ubisoft, it won't be able to increase further until after eight years. The partnership will cover "the development of mobile titles from several of Ubisoft's major franchises and the launch of several of Ubisoft's PC titles in China." In the middle of all this, the Guillemot family remains unchanged and still has exclusive control of Guillemot Brothers Limited.

In May, Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot reassured investors during the company's full-year earnings call (transcribed by VGC) that the publisher would "remain independent." Any partnership would be seen as strategic cooperation to help with building more entertainment and tech.

"We have the talent," Guillemot continued. "The industrial and financial scale, and a large portfolio of powerful IPs to create massive value in the coming years," adding more weight to Ubisoft's independence. However, Ubisoft is willing to "review any offer in the interest of all shareholders and of [their] great teams."

Where this goes from here is anyone's guess, but with a Ubisoft Forward showcase planned for September 10, the studio is slowly gaining the eye of many before the day comes.