The French media corporation Vivendi, who used to own a significant share of Activision, has shown interest in acquiring ownership of Ubisoft.
Ubisoft themselves however, does not want this potential takover to happen, and according to The Globe and Mail the company executives, led by CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot, have been to meetings with several potential investors in Canada.
Their mission is ultimately to ensure Ubisoft's independence, as they fear ownership by Vivendi would halt or hinder their operational freedom. As a large corporation Vivendi has a selection of properties it would be natural for Ubisoft to work with if they were included in the network, and these restrictions do not ring well with the current management:
"We want to increase the number of Canadian shareholders in Ubisoft to have better control over the capital," Mr. Guillemot told The Globe and Mail.
As a fair portion of Ubisoft's studios are already situated in Canada it makes sense to look for investors locally, and Ubisoft are even open to an investment by the Quebec government. Currently Guillemot and his four brothers (the five of them founded Ubisoft over 30 years ago) own 9 per cent of Ubisoft's equity and 16 per cent of the voting rights, and they have support from shareholders Blackrock and Fidelity who together own around 15 per cent of the company.
To be able fend of Vivendi and avoid changes to the board of directors, Mr. Guillemot believes he has to bump up this support to at least 50 per cent.