Tencent, Guillemot family mulling buyout of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ maker Ubisoft, Bloomberg News reports

Tencent Holdings and Ubisoft Entertainment’s founding Guillemot family are considering options including a potential buyout of the “Assassin’s Creed” maker, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Guillemot Brothers and Tencent have been speaking with advisers to help bolster Ubisoft’s value, and stabilize the company, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ubisoft’s shares surged nearly 30 per cent after the report of the buyout. The company had a market value of 1.39 billion euros ($1.52 billion), as of Thursday close.

One of the options being discussed include taking the French video game maker private, the report said.

Tencent and the Guillemot family did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while Ubisoft declined to comment.

Ubisoft’s shares have fallen more than halved in value so far this year, underperforming those of rivals, as its recent releases fell short of expectations.

The company in September delayed the release of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” by three months, and cut its net bookings guidance.

Reuters exclusively reported last week that Slovakia-based AJ Investments had the support of 10 per cent of Ubisoft shareholders in its mission to take the company private, sell it to a third party or change upper management.

Ubisoft is run by its founders, the Guillemot family, which owns 15 per cent of the firm, followed by Chinese gaming giant Tencent which owns just under 10 per cent, according to LSEG data.

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