French video game publisher Ubisoft said today it was postponing publication of its half-year earnings report and halted trading of its shares and bonds starting Friday.
The suspension will remain until Ubisoft publishes the results in coming days. It’s a clear sign that some kind of important development is in the works, but Ubisoft did not offer any hints about it.
Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet said in an internal memo to employees that the suspension was requested “to limit unnecessary speculation and market volatility during this short delay.”
Sometimes such delays happen when a company is discussing an important development, like entertaining acquisition offers, but, again, Ubisoft said nothing to that effect.
Ubisoft is in the midst of a big restructuring so that Tencent can invest $1.16 billion into the company’s new subsidiary, which will combine the Tom Clancy titles like Rainbow Six into a division with Aassassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
Ubisoft has reorganized itself around the idea of business units dubbed “creative houses” And it named Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, as the co-CEOs of the division.