Nieuwe ontwikkelingen rond Ubisoft-EA conflict

Ubisoft ziet het niet zitten dat Electronic Arts 19,9% van hun aandelen heeft gekocht. De aandelen waren eerder in het bezit van Talpa BV, een bedrijf van John de Mol. De waarde van de hoeveelheid aandelen wordt geschat op een bedrag dat tussen de $85 en $100 miljoen dollar ligt.

Ubisoft is razend dat hun concurrent nu 18.4% stemrechten heeft. Zelf houden ze nog 22,8% stemrecht over en dat is in het bezit van de gebroeders Guillemot, die tevens de oprichters van het bedrijf zijn.
Een woordvoerder van het bedrijf heeft gemeld dat andere aandeelhouders zich niet moeten laten intimideren door Electronic Arts. Zij overwegen ook versterking van hun hoofdpositie binnen de eigendomsgroep.

"[...]
With each passing day, EA's purchase last week of Ubisoft stock looks more and more like the first move in a hostile takeover bid. The investment, in the range of $85 million to $100 million, gives EA access to 18.4 percent of the voting rights, against 22.8 percent held by Ubisoft's founders, the Guillemot family. At the time, EA asserted that it was only buying shares that would be on the market regardless of who purchased them. "It was very clear they were coming into the market one way or another and we felt it was important that we own the shares," Warren Jenson, chief financial officer of EA, said to Reuters news service. Others were less convinced of its plans. "We believe that this move by EA is a step towards acquiring the entire Ubisoft and is a potential signal that EA may be willing to take similar aggressive moves to acquire other leading video game publishers," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a note.

A Ubisoft spokesperson already said in response, "Pending further information, we consider this operation as hostile." Word comes today from the French investment community that the Guillemot brothers have asked shareholders to not be swayed by the approach of EA. They also are considering reinforcement of their capital position within the ownership group.
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