Vivendi makes a move on Ubisoft and Gameloft

Vivendi now owns over 20% of Ubisoft.

Vivendi’s acquisitions have been financed using its disposable cash;
Vivendi is not acting together with any third party in connection with its investment in Ubisoft and has not entered into a temporary sale agreement concerning Ubisoft’s shares or voting rights;
Vivendi does not hold instruments and is not a party to agreements such as those referred to in paragraphs 4° and 4° bis of Article L.233-9 of the French Code de commerce (Trade Code);
Vivendi is considering continuing to acquire shares depending on market conditions;
Vivendi is not considering the launch of a public tender on Ubisoft nor acquiring the control of the company;
Vivendi is hoping to build a fruitful cooperation with Ubisoft;
Vivendi is considering asking for a recomposition of the Ubisoft Board of Directors in order to, among other things, obtain Board representation consistent with its shareholder position;
Vivendi’s investment in Ubisoft’s business sector is part of a strategic vision of operational convergence between Vivendi’s content and platform and Ubisoft’s productions in the field of video games. Since this strategy does not require any modification to Ubisoft’s legal or financial organization, Vivendi is not contemplating any of the transactions referred to in Article 223-17, I, 6° of the AMF Règlement Général (General Regulations).

So, in other words, “Just the tip”?

Edit: Apologies if that was too crude an expression to use here- I think I saw it on Billions and it just kinda stuck as a way of saying something that fits this scenario.

Iceberg

Matches in more ways than one… Ubisoft is the titanic and they just hit Viviendi…
I wonder how long the band will keep on playing.

http://www.weloveubisoft.com/

September 21st is Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary.

On September 29th, Ubisoft has their general investor meeting in which the Board will either be approved for another term, or investors will vote in a new Board presumably stocked with Vivendi people.

[quote]Publisher regains 3.2% in share capital ahead of Vivendi’s request for greater board representation
Ubisoft

Ubisoft has acquired €122.5 million of its own stock, bringing another 3.2% of the company under its control ahead of a crucial annual meeting in which Vivendi will appeal for more seats on the board.

In total, the deal is for the 3.625 million Ubisoft shares held by Bpifrance, at a price of €33.80 per share. In an official statement, the company said, “this transaction…fits into Ubisoft’s share buyback program.” The deal will close before the beginning of November 2016.

“We want to express our warm gratitude to Bpifrance for its support during all these years,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. [/quote]

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Ubisoft Motion Picture CEO Gerard Guillemot were both reelected to the company board.

Vivendi is not selling their stock. They remain in control of 23% of the company.

Up to 24%.

Oh, Ubisoft.

Apparently Vivendi now owns 25% of Ubisoft’s stock and only needs another 5% to start the wheels turning for a takeover.

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has decided to fine five Ubsoft execs for insider trading. 1.27 million Euros total judgment. Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat got hit with 700k of that total on his own.

Ubisoft’s statement:

[quote]
Today, the AMF announced a decision against five of our team members in Canada and France, whom the AMF charges with having sold Ubisoft shares while in possession of privileged information related to the probability of postponing one of Ubisoft’s games.

Ubisoft acknowledges the AMF’s decision, but continues to assert that the people involved acted in good faith. We are convinced that these team members did not intentionally commit any acts contrary to market regulations.

Similarly, given the processes and timetables involved in the production of major games at our company and within our industry in general, we believe that at the time they carried out their transactions these employees could not have been aware of or anticipate the subsequent decision to postpone the game that would be taken by Yves Guillemot on October 11, 2013. Regrettably, the AMF’s decision represents a serious misunderstanding of the game development and production process at our company and common to our industry. Each major game requires the involvement of multiple teams across the company, but ultimately only the company’s CEO can make an exceptional decision such as changing a game’s release date.

We remain convinced that the whole process is unjustified, unfounded and illegal. Moreover, the Commission notes that the hearings conducted in Quebec are null and void. We will therefore continue to defend our good faith and our rights before the Court of Appeal in France, and also via the lawsuit in Quebec brought against the AMF France and the AMF Quebec.[/quote]

The AMF claims five Ubisoft execs sold stocks just before October 15, 2013 which was the date the company announced the delay for The Crew and the original Watch Dogs. Ubisoft stock dropped after the announcement, and the AMF thinks the stockholders in question dumped their stock before the price hit using their insider knowledge.

I guess it’s all about the timing now.

[quote]
A filing from the AMF stock market regulator said Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family now held 13.6 percent of Ubisoft’s share capital, and 20.02 percent of the company’s voting rights.

Vivendi has also been gradually raising its stake in Ubisoft, best known for its Assassin’s Creed and South Park video games, with Vivendi currently holding 27 percent of Ubisoft’s share capital and 24.5 percent of the voting rights.[/quote]

Best known for their South Park games? You mean the one they bought the rights to during its development and the one that hasn’t come out yet?

Still going on…

In case anyone is interested, Ubisoft just sold EUR 500m of debt at 1.289%.

It’s finally over.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ubisoft-entertainment-ubisoft-reaches-agreement-171300865.html

https://www.vivendi.com/en/press/press-releases/extension-of-the-ubisoft-forward-share-sale-deadline/