Ubisoft is buying back up to 4 million shares in Vivendi battle

Ubisoft is stepping its defense against Vivendi’s hostile takeover attempts. The video game publisher, one of the giants of the industry, announced today that it granted a mandate to an investment services provider to buy back up to 4 million of its own shares. It can do this from today until December 29.

As of September, Vivendi had about 25 percent of voting rights, while the Guillemot family (which owns Ubisoft) has about 22 percent. If Vivendi goes over 30 percent ownership, it is obligated under French law to attempt a takeover of Ubisoft, which has a valuation of $6.4 billion. If Vivendi fails in that attempt, it has to sell off shares to go back under 30 percent. Ubisoft’s 12,000 employees own about 6 percent of the shares.

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Mike Minotti

Mike Minotti has been with GamesBeat since 2012, starting as an intern. Based near Youngstown, Ohio, he now manages GamesBeat's editorial team. He's also a prolific podcaster, appearing on multiple shows covering the gaming industry.