Ubisoft is getting taken over by Vivendi, wants Canada’s help fighting

French mass media company Vivendi is attempting to secure more stocks in Ubisoft, in a takeover bid that the Assassin’s Creed and The Division publisher is calling “unwelcome”. Apparently Vivendi’s interest in Gameloft is a ploy to force the Guillemot family to discuss the taking over of Ubisoft, according to European investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co. The video game publisher has also met with private investors in both Montreal and Toronto in an effort to find the required investment to remain independent.

Vivendi first staked a claim for Ubisoft in October of 2015, when it bought 6.6 percent of shares.

Vivendi’s influence on Ubisoft’s gaming enterprise continued to grow, and the latest development involved the former staking a claim for 30 per cent of Gameloft, an internal company run by Guillemot and his brothers.

“We want to increase the number of Canadian shareholders in Ubisoft to have better control over the capital”.

If Vivendi were to take over Ubisoft, it’s expected it would result in heavy job losses, particularly in Canada, where many Ubisoft studios are located.

In a leaked internal email, Yves Guillemot addressed concerns regarding a possible Vivendi takeover. However, Guillemot has said similar plans regarding Ubisoft were “unsolicited”, and in leaked emails claimed he did not want the company to be “managed by people who don’t understand our expertise and what it takes to succeed in this industry”. Over the past few years, Vivendi has been selling its Activision stock, unloading the last chunk just last month, but apparently they already have eyes for another huge video game publisher.

For those unfamiliar with the company Vivendi, the company had at one point in time owned Activision Blizzard.