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By Martin Arnold, Paris
Published: January 6 2005 17:22 | Last updated: January 6 2005 17:22
Ubisoft and French flagSpeculation about Ubisoft's most likely defence strategy switched on Thursday to a possible merger with its mobile phone games subsidiary, after the French computer games publisher and Vivendi Universal denied they were in talks about a friendly merger.
Ubisoft, controlled by the five Guillemot brothers who founded it 1986, is examining all options to defend itself against Electronic Arts, the world's biggest games company, which last month became its biggest shareholder by buying a 20 per cent stake. Ubisoft called EA's purchase hostile.
The Guillemot family, which dominate Ubisoft's board, own 17.5 per cent of the company's shares and 26 per cent of the voting rights. They may try to boost their stake by merging Ubisoft with Gameloft, its mobile phone games subsidiary, in which they own a 79 per cent stake.
A merger with Gameloft, which has a market capitalisation of 180m ($237m), would bring the Guillemot brothers' Ubisoft stake close to a blocking minority.
The founders are also examining a pact with other leading shareholders, CDC, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, which own about
8 per cent.
Shares in Ubisoft fell 3 per cent on Thursday, losing some of the ground gained on Wednesday, when it first emerged that the family-controlled games company had contacted several companies, including Vivendi, about a possible white knight deal.
Vivendi said: In view of the rumours, Vivendi Universal denies any negotiations are taking place concerning the takeover of Ubisoft.
A few hours later, Ubisoft added: There are currently no negotiations with a potential partner.
EA declined to comment on Thursday, except to say that the deal protected its strategic interests. A person close to the US group said the situation was likely to evolve, but no big moves were expected for several weeks.
The California-based company has a $2.5bn cash pile and could easily afford to buy Ubisoft, which has a market capitalisation of less than 500m.
But analysts say EA is likely to seek a friendly deal, as hostile bids are rare in the games sector due to the danger of losing key staff.
Published: January 6 2005 17:22 | Last updated: January 6 2005 17:22
Ubisoft and French flagSpeculation about Ubisoft's most likely defence strategy switched on Thursday to a possible merger with its mobile phone games subsidiary, after the French computer games publisher and Vivendi Universal denied they were in talks about a friendly merger.
Ubisoft, controlled by the five Guillemot brothers who founded it 1986, is examining all options to defend itself against Electronic Arts, the world's biggest games company, which last month became its biggest shareholder by buying a 20 per cent stake. Ubisoft called EA's purchase hostile.
The Guillemot family, which dominate Ubisoft's board, own 17.5 per cent of the company's shares and 26 per cent of the voting rights. They may try to boost their stake by merging Ubisoft with Gameloft, its mobile phone games subsidiary, in which they own a 79 per cent stake.
A merger with Gameloft, which has a market capitalisation of 180m ($237m), would bring the Guillemot brothers' Ubisoft stake close to a blocking minority.
The founders are also examining a pact with other leading shareholders, CDC, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, which own about
8 per cent.
Shares in Ubisoft fell 3 per cent on Thursday, losing some of the ground gained on Wednesday, when it first emerged that the family-controlled games company had contacted several companies, including Vivendi, about a possible white knight deal.
Vivendi said: In view of the rumours, Vivendi Universal denies any negotiations are taking place concerning the takeover of Ubisoft.
A few hours later, Ubisoft added: There are currently no negotiations with a potential partner.
EA declined to comment on Thursday, except to say that the deal protected its strategic interests. A person close to the US group said the situation was likely to evolve, but no big moves were expected for several weeks.
The California-based company has a $2.5bn cash pile and could easily afford to buy Ubisoft, which has a market capitalisation of less than 500m.
But analysts say EA is likely to seek a friendly deal, as hostile bids are rare in the games sector due to the danger of losing key staff.
