Ubisoft is apparently up to some business-shaped shenanigans behind the scenes as it's reportedly considering launching a new part of the company that would house some of its main intellectual property, notably including Assassin's Creed.
This comes from a new Bloomberg report, in which anonymous sources familiar with the situation have claimed that Ubisoft is looking for investors to support this so-called "IP unit," which apparently hasn't actually been formed yet. It's not actually clear what this part of the business would exactly do, but it appears that it could be very significant, as the report claims that Ubisoft might seek for it to be valued even higher than the main company, although apparently no final decisions have been made, and plans could change.
Ubisoft is apparently thinking about selling a minority stake in it, anyway, and has reached out to "potential bidders," such as Tencent Holdings. Last year, it was reported that Tencent and the Guillemot brothers, who founded Ubisoft, were considering a full buyout of the company, but Ubisoft didn't comment on the situation beyond saying that it "regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of stakeholders." Back in January, CEO Yves Guillemot also stated: "We are actively exploring various transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders. We are convinced that there are several potential paths to generate value for Ubisoft assets and franchises."
- Ubisoft "won't comment" on reports of Tencent buyout, only says it's "exploring different options" and "will inform the market if and when a transaction materializes"
- Ubisoft shareholder plans protest in response to mismanagement, Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, and alleged acquisition talks with Microsoft and EA
Could this apparent IP unit idea be one such path, then? Perhaps so, but it seems far too early at this point to tell. However, just this week, it was reported that one shareholder is apparently planning to protest against Ubisoft's "horribly mismanaged" plans, apparently leading to "declining shareholder value."
After a couple of delays, Assassin's Creed Shadows is finally set to release next week, and there's no doubt that Ubisoft will be hoping it can give the company a boost.
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