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[LectureMaster]

Ubisoft's Tencent deal goes through

The French publisher confirms a €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios

www.gamesindustry.biz

---

Ubisoft has announced the completion of Tencent's €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios, the division in charge of the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises.

Vantage Studios became operational on October 1, and includes Ubisoft's offices in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia, encompassing a total of 2,300 employees. Following completion of the deal, Tencent now holds a 26.32% stake in Vantage Studios, which remains controlled by Ubisoft.

In a press statement, Ubisoft said that Vantage Studios has a "pre-money enterprise value of €3.8 billion," while CEO Yves Guillemot heralded the deal as a milestone. "Today's closing crystallizes the value of our world-class IPs and marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's ongoing transformation," he said. "It also brings in €1.16 billion of proceeds that deleverages the Group, strengthens our balance sheet and will support selected investment opportunities across the rest of the company.

"Vantage Studios, fully operational since October 1st under a dedicated leadership team, embodies the principles of autonomy, focus and player centricity, with clear accountability. It brings our Creative Houses model to life with the ambition to accelerate the growth of our flagship franchises on their path to becoming annual billion-euro brands."

Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said: "Tencent is delighted to be building on our strong relationship with Ubisoft through this investment in the launch of Vantage Studios. With its capable team and world-class creative vision, we look forward to Vantage Studios accelerating the growth of Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six as evergreen platforms providing entertainment and inspiration to generations of players."

In its latest financial results, announced ahead of the completion of the Tencent deal, Ubisoft reported a net debt of €1.15 billion.

 

[Saber]

Hopefully Tencent will whip the shit out of them to make things go back on track again.

 

[jshackles]

Looking forward to more of this

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

Great more Chinese ownership

 

[LectureMaster]

Ubi be like:

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Imagine if the Chinese secret service sent people (or useful idiots for their people) into these companies to work for exactly this outcome.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Ubisoft-power

 

[DeepEnigma]

China now owns the license to XCloud.

What could go wrong?

 

[Hudo]

Hopefully Tencent will whip the shit out of them to make things go back on track again.

Those Chinese Trashlords will just whip them into making a different kind of trash.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Never liked any Ubisoft games but if they revamp their franchises enough than maybe I'll check the games out.

 

[AJUMP23]

Spent way more than ten cent.

 

[Kurotri]

On paper, this whole "creative houses" thing sounds great. But in reality? The fact that Vantage is helmed by his son or nephew or whatever that has 0 experiencing in leading a gaming studio is absurd to me. I guess we'll see? Bon chance.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I can already see the future.

A Japanese samurai in a Japan set title?

IT'S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK

 

[March Climber]

Looking forward to more of this

Hoping it comes to Console/PC.

 

[Hookshot]

What happens to all the MS cloud stuff that Ubisoft got so MS could buy Activision?

 

[UltimaKilo]

This won't go well.

 

[Generic]

Looking forward to more of this

And Far Cry 8 in China.

 

[yurinka]

Hopefully Tencent will whip the shit out of them to make things go back on track again.

Those Chinese Trashlords will just whip them into making a different kind of trash.

Great more Chinese ownership

Ubisoft continues having 73.68% of this subsidiary, so full control over it too. Tencent doesn't own or control Ubisoft or this new subsidiary.

Pretty likely won't change anything in these studios or IPs other than some minor tweaks suggested by Tencent to better localize their games for the Chinese market, something they already do.

But would be nice if Tencent asks them (even if they won't have the power or willing to mandate anything) to also get rid of wokism also outside the Chinese localition to improve their performance in the west too.

What happens to all the MS cloud stuff that Ubisoft got so MS could buy Activision?

China now owns the license to XCloud.

Ubisoft (not this Vantage Studios subsidiary) manages the rights to distribute past and future ABK games in all cloud gaming platforms, particularly the non-MS ones (not XCloud).

This also means MS can't buy Ubisoft (something we know that in the past they tried and failed to achieve).

Tencent has not acquired and doesn't have any control over Ubisoft, the Ubisoft subsidiary Vantage Studios, XCloud or the cloud gaming rights of the ABK games.

 

[Saber]

Ubisoft continues having 73.68% of this subsidiary, so full control over it too.

Thats a children thinking. We are talking about investment here, meaning Tencent want to see that return.
The moment Tencent see these 1.16 billion invested spent on useless social pushing, you see who will have control over who.

 

[Kerotan]

Hopefully Tencent will whip the shit out of them to make things go back on track again.

I want to see blue haired people on a human sized hamster wheel!

 

[yurinka]

Thats a children thinking. We are talking about investment here, meaning Tencent want to see that return.
The moment Tencent see these 1.16 billion invested spent on useless social pushing, you see who will have control over who.

It isn't children thinking, it a fact. Who controls a company is who owns three quarters of it (Ubisoft), not who owns a quarter of it (Tencent).

It's an investment, meaning Tencent will get dividends from the money made by this subsidiary. And also means they secure them as partners for China -which means more money for Tencent- making sure they don't partner in China with other rival Chinese company, or that they partner instead with somebody else that cold block their relationship with Tencent (as could be some US company particularly if in the future USA gets more hostile with China).

 

[JayK47]

No more top surgery in Far Cry. Or maybe twice as much. I am not sure what this even means.

 

[willothedog]

I stay in the re-education camps for the Guillemot's should right the Ubisoft ship.

 

[Loomy]

Thats a children thinking. We are talking about investment here, meaning Tencent want to see that return.
The moment Tencent see these 1.16 billion invested spent on useless social pushing, you see who will have control over who.

Just going to leave this here.

ESG - Tencent 腾讯

腾讯于1998年11月成立，是一家互联网公司，通过技术丰富互联网用户的生活，助力企业数字化升级。我们的使命是“用户为本 科技向善”。Founded in 1998, Tencent is an Internet-based platform company using technology to enrich the lives of Internet users and assist the digital upgrade of enterprises. Our mission is "Value for Users, Tech for Good".

www.tencent.com

 

[Grildon Tundy]

They'll certainly have an influence on things, but 1/4 ownership only goes so far.

 

[BigBeauford]

Seems to be a not so great investment from Tencent to be honest.

 

[Loomy]

They'll certainly have an influence on things, but 1/4 ownership only goes so far.

I think the leverage they have is money. They're essentially the bank. They know that, Yves knows that. If Ubisoft can't sell games, then Tencent is essentially their sugar daddy.

Seems to be a not so great investment from Tencent to be honest.

Ubisoft is in rough shape right now, but they have a lot of very valuable IPs.

 

[rkofan87]

Ubisoft's Tencent deal goes through

The French publisher confirms a €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios

www.gamesindustry.biz

---

Ubisoft has announced the completion of Tencent's €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios, the division in charge of the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises.

Vantage Studios became operational on October 1, and includes Ubisoft's offices in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia, encompassing a total of 2,300 employees. Following completion of the deal, Tencent now holds a 26.32% stake in Vantage Studios, which remains controlled by Ubisoft.

In a press statement, Ubisoft said that Vantage Studios has a "pre-money enterprise value of €3.8 billion," while CEO Yves Guillemot heralded the deal as a milestone. "Today's closing crystallizes the value of our world-class IPs and marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's ongoing transformation," he said. "It also brings in €1.16 billion of proceeds that deleverages the Group, strengthens our balance sheet and will support selected investment opportunities across the rest of the company.

"Vantage Studios, fully operational since October 1st under a dedicated leadership team, embodies the principles of autonomy, focus and player centricity, with clear accountability. It brings our Creative Houses model to life with the ambition to accelerate the growth of our flagship franchises on their path to becoming annual billion-euro brands."

Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said: "Tencent is delighted to be building on our strong relationship with Ubisoft through this investment in the launch of Vantage Studios. With its capable team and world-class creative vision, we look forward to Vantage Studios accelerating the growth of Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six as evergreen platforms providing entertainment and inspiration to generations of players."

In its latest financial results, announced ahead of the completion of the Tencent deal, Ubisoft reported a net debt of €1.15 billion.

the real reason financials were delayed and trading was stopped
so basically The Insider was right he was just wrong on the country of origin it wasn't Arabs it was the Chinese

 

[Karim]

Ubisoft's Tencent deal goes through

The French publisher confirms a €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios

www.gamesindustry.biz

---

Ubisoft has announced the completion of Tencent's €1.16 billion investment in Vantage Studios, the division in charge of the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises.

Vantage Studios became operational on October 1, and includes Ubisoft's offices in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia, encompassing a total of 2,300 employees. Following completion of the deal, Tencent now holds a 26.32% stake in Vantage Studios, which remains controlled by Ubisoft.

In a press statement, Ubisoft said that Vantage Studios has a "pre-money enterprise value of €3.8 billion," while CEO Yves Guillemot heralded the deal as a milestone. "Today's closing crystallizes the value of our world-class IPs and marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's ongoing transformation," he said. "It also brings in €1.16 billion of proceeds that deleverages the Group, strengthens our balance sheet and will support selected investment opportunities across the rest of the company.

"Vantage Studios, fully operational since October 1st under a dedicated leadership team, embodies the principles of autonomy, focus and player centricity, with clear accountability. It brings our Creative Houses model to life with the ambition to accelerate the growth of our flagship franchises on their path to becoming annual billion-euro brands."

Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said: "Tencent is delighted to be building on our strong relationship with Ubisoft through this investment in the launch of Vantage Studios. With its capable team and world-class creative vision, we look forward to Vantage Studios accelerating the growth of Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six as evergreen platforms providing entertainment and inspiration to generations of players."

In its latest financial results, announced ahead of the completion of the Tencent deal, Ubisoft reported a net debt of €1.15 billion.

 

[Draugoth]

Everything will either be owned by the Saudis or Chinese.

 

[Plague Doctor]

And the big AAA Western Pub assimiliation continues.

Who's left? 2k?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Ubisoft (not this Vantage Studios subsidiary) manages the rights to distribute past and future ABK games in all cloud gaming platforms, particularly the non-MS ones (not XCloud).

This also means MS can't buy Ubisoft (something we know that in the past they tried and failed to achieve).

Tencent has not acquired and doesn't have any control over Ubisoft, the Ubisoft subsidiary Vantage Studios, XCloud or the cloud gaming rights of the ABK games.

Thank you for clearing that up

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Shares in Ubisoft climbed after the videogame maker said Tencent has completed the investment in Vantage Studios, a new Ubisoft subsidiary built around its Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six franchises.

The deal values Vantage Studios at 3.8 billion euros ($4.38 billion) before investment and including debt, and gives Ubisoft 1.16 billion euros in cash proceeds, the company said.

Stock trading at $1b value when Tencent value just these IPs at $4.38b

Recovery play in action

 

[StereoVsn]

I can already see the future.

A Japanese samurai in a Japan set title?

IT'S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK

Japan is now bad. You will have all AC games based in China now with even worse censorship.

 

[BigBeauford]

The CCPs oppressive censorship policies combined with the ultra woke french sensibilities will make this studio a powerhouse for years to come

 

[cHinzo]

Can we finally get a classic co-op Rainbow Six now?

 

[archangelmorph]

1.16B for Ubisoft but $76B for ActiBlizzard.

Shows just how poorly Ubi has been performing over all these years.

Bungie cost nearly 3 times this.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

1.16B for Ubisoft but $76B for ActiBlizzard.

Shows just how poorly Ubi has been performing over all these years.

Bungie cost nearly 3 times this.

Yes, whilst I am not a fan of their games. I am thinking they are grossly undervalued and at least from a stock perspective it might be a great recovery play.

Especially as: The deal values Vantage Studios at 3.8 billion euros ($4.38 billion) before investment and including debt, and gives Ubisoft 1.16 billion euros in cash proceeds, the company said.

 

[LordOcidax]

Looks like Ubisoft made a good deal.

 

[falconhoof]

So Ubi carved out 2,300 employees into a new studio and sold it to Tencent?

Didn't Ubi have about 8-11k employees in total?

 

[salva]

I have no idea if this is good or bad for the next Ghost Recon. Probably makes no difference, it'll still be a shit modern looter extraction-based shooter

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

So Ubi carved out 2,300 employees into a new studio and sold it to Tencent?

Didn't Ubi have about 8-11k employees in total?

Going by the below, they gave 26.3% to Tencent, so a minority stake, whilst retaining control.

It's a pretty solid deal for Ubi.

Surely Tencent will soon for for the lot. It is chump change for them.

The deal values Vantage Studios at 3.8 billion euros ($4.38 billion) before investment and including debt, and gives Ubisoft 1.16 billion euros in cash proceeds, the company said.

"[Today's closing] marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's ongoing transformation", Ubisoft's co-founder and chief executive Yves Guillemot said.

The proceeds will strengthen the group's balance sheet, help it reduce debt and fuel future investments, Guillemot added.

After the investment, Tencent owns 26.32% stake in Vantage, which remains fully controlled by Ubisoft, the company said.

 

[LordOcidax]

I have no idea if this is good or bad for the next Ghost Recon. Probably makes no difference, it'll still be a shit modern looter extraction-based shooter

Is good for Ubisoft thats for sure, they are going to receive around US$1.2 billion in investment without selling anything…

 

[Spukc]

Good fucking crash and burn

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Is good for Ubisoft thats for sure, they are going to receive around US$1.2 billion in investment without selling anything…

Not surprised as even those who think their games are trash (like me) know their IPs are worth a heck of a lot more than the current market value of the entire company.

 

[LordOcidax]

Not surprised as even those who think their games are trash (like me) know their IPs are worth a heck of a lot more than the current market value of the entire company.

Exactly. Their IPs are like a blank check…

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Exactly. Their IPs are like a blank check…

Yup. They just need a single breakthrough game from their IPs and the entire company valuation would see a serious rerate.

 

[calico]

Is good for Ubisoft thats for sure, they are going to receive around US$1.2 billion in investment without selling anything…

They effectively sold a 26% stake in their best IPs.

So Ubi carved out 2,300 employees into a new studio and sold it to Tencent?

Didn't Ubi have about 8-11k employees in total?

17k. The new company is still a subsidiary of Ubisoft, Tencent just has a 26% stake.

Really Tencent owns even more than that though indirectly, through owning Ubisoft stock.