The fears of many people who follow the games industry might become a reality as Vivendi Entertainment now owns 25 percent of Ubisoft. As we reported a few months ago, once Vivendi acquires 30 percent of the company, it will be required by French law to make a takeover bid.
Vivendi has issued a statement claiming it has no intention of performing a takeover. According to Vivendi, its pursuit of even more stake in Ubisoft depends entirely on "market conditions."
Earlier this year, Vivendi was successful in taking over control of mobile developer Gameloft. This rings particularly ominous because Gameloft was created by the same family that founded Ubisoft. As for Vivendi's reasons behind buying more stock, it has previously stated the move "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."
Ubisoft hasn't remained quiet on the situation, though. Speaking to GameSpot, a spokesperson for Ubisoft stated, "This is another indication that Vivendi is continuing its ill-advised and value-destructive approach of attempting to take creeping control of companies like Ubisoft."
Ubisoft Slams Vivendi as It Buys Even More Shares [GameSpot]
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