Ubisoft confirms 'imminent' investment worth $1.33 billion from Chinese tech giant
Gaming giant Ubisoft has revealed a shocking new investor that's arriving 'imminently', as one Chinese mega company is set to provide over $1.33 billion worth of funding to the Assassin's Creed developer.
Investments and buyouts are not a rare occurrence in the gaming world as it feels like the big companies have been hoovering up developers at an increasing rate across the last decade.
Blockbuster acquisitions like Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard have been paired with PlayStation's purchase of Halo-developer Bungie, and only this year did developer Electronic Arts take part in the largest leveraged buyout in history, with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) forking up a large part of the funds.
However, a new era could be abound for one of the industry's most prominent companies, as French developer and publisher Ubisoft is set to receive an investment worth over $1.33 billion 'in the coming days'.
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As reported by Game Developer, the studio confirmed the transaction in a recent earnings statement, revealing that Chinese technology behemoth Tencent will be reducing the company's debt and enabling the formation of a new subsidiary named 'Vantage Studios'.
This subsidiary will oversee many of the company's biggest franchises – Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six – and will be led by co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, the latter being Ubisoft co-founder Yves Guillemot's son.
"The closing of our strategic transaction with Tencent – which will see Tencent become a minority shareholder in our new subsidiary, Vantage Studios – is now imminent," explained Guillemot in the new fiscal report, "as all conditions precedent have been satisfied."
He added that the transaction "marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's transformation, significantly strengthening our financial position by bringing in €1.16 billion of cash, enabling the Group to deleverage, as planned.
"It will empower Vantage Studios to accelerate the growth of our three flagship IPs under a dedicated leadership team," the Ubisoft CEO continued.
The company has outlined that within Vantage Studios, 'Creative Houses' will be formed and they will remains "autonomous, efficient, focused and accountable business units" with their own leadership, creative vision, and strategic roadmap.
This is far from the only instance of Tencent's investment in the gaming world, as they have a hand in many of the industry's largest entities, so its involvement in Ubisoft is arguably not surprising.
For example, as shared by PC Gamer, Tencent has 100 percent ownership of League of Legends and Valorant developer Riot Games, a 40 percent take in Fortnite developer and major PC storefront operator Epic Games, and even own 16 percent of Elden Ring and Dark Souls creator FromSoftware.