What's ailing Ubisoft? | Opinion
Since its IPO almost thirty years ago, the corporate history of Ubisoft has been defined, to some degree, by battles with various attempts to take over or wrest control of the company.At the time of that IPO it was still primarily a European distributor for other companies' games, and the ambitions that would lead it to become a major publisher and developer of its own titles were still in their infancy. Within just a few years, a series of smart decisions had put Ubisoft firmly on the map as a global publisher with a handful of key IPs under its belt – which, in turn, put it in the crosshairs of larger companies seeking to grow through acquisition.EA bought almost 20% of the firm in 2004, which Ubisoft executives feared was the prelude to a hostile takeover attempt. EA ultimately sold its shares in 2010, but just a few years later Ubisoft faced a much more serious takeover attempt, with the founding Guillemot family engaging in a three-year corporate battle to try to prevent media giant Vivendi from gaining a controlling share of the company. Read more
Since its IPO almost thirty years ago, the corporate history of Ubisoft has been defined, to some degree, by battles with various attempts to take over or wrest control of the company.
At the time of that IPO it was still primarily a European distributor for other companies' games, and the ambitions that would lead it to become a major publisher and developer of its own titles were still in their infancy. Within just a few years, a series of smart decisions had put Ubisoft firmly on the map as a global publisher with a handful of key IPs under its belt – which, in turn, put it in the crosshairs of larger companies seeking to grow through acquisition.
EA bought almost 20% of the firm in 2004, which Ubisoft executives feared was the prelude to a hostile takeover attempt. EA ultimately sold its shares in 2010, but just a few years later Ubisoft faced a much more serious takeover attempt, with the founding Guillemot family engaging in a three-year corporate battle to try to prevent media giant Vivendi from gaining a controlling share of the company.
What's Your Reaction?
.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp#)
