Paris - March 20, 2018 - Today, Ubisoft announced that it has signed an agreement with Vivendi for its full exit from Ubisoft`s share capital, with the sale of all Vivendi`s 30,489,300 shares. The transaction includes an investment by two new long-term investors, the Relationship Investing arm of Ontario Teachers` Public Equities division, and Tencent, a share buy-back by Ubisoft, an acquisition of shares by Guillemot Brothers SE and an Accelerated Bookbuilding with institutional investors. Following the implementation of the transaction, Vivendi will no longer hold any shares in Ubisoft, and has committed not to acquire any shares in Ubisoft for 5 years.
As part of the transaction, Ubisoft and Tencent have also announced today a strategic partnership that will significantly accelerate the reach of Ubisoft franchises in China in the coming years.
Yves Guillemot, CEO and Co-Founder, said: "The evolution in our shareholding is great news for Ubisoft. It was made possible thanks to the outstanding execution of our strategy and the decisive support of Ubisoft talents, players and shareholders. I would like to warmly thank them all. The investment from new long-term shareholders in Ubisoft demonstrates their trust in our future value creation potential, and Ubisoft`s share buy-back will be accretive to all shareholders. Finally, the new strategic partnership agreement we signed will enable Ubisoft to accelerate its development in China in the coming years and fully leverage a market with great potential."
"Today, Ubisoft is fully reaping the benefits of our long-term strategy and the successful transformation towards a more recurring and profitable business. Ubisoft is perfectly positioned to capture the numerous video game growth drivers in the coming years. We are focused more than ever on delivering on our strategic plan."