Report: EA and Microsoft wants to buy franchises from Ubisoft

It's no secret that Ubisoft has been struggling for a long time, and several major titles have underperformed in terms of sales. This is of course reflected in the share price, which has dropped by almost 80% in just five years.

Now IGN reports that one of the company's owners has told them a little about what is happening behind the scenes, and explains that there have been "discussions between Microsoft, EA, and others that are interested in acquiring IPs from Ubisoft". We don't know exactly which franchises they are interested in, but surely The Division, Just Dance and Rainbow Six could be of interest to EA, while Microsoft could be looking at Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Splinter Cell?

Ubisoft has commented on the matter to IGN in the driest most bureaucratic way, and seems to confirm that they are currently considering the possibility of selling brands:

"As we mentioned during our Q3 sales, the review of various transformational strategic and capitalistic options is ongoing. The Board has established an ad-hoc independent Committee to oversee this formal and competitive process, so as to extract the best value from Ubisoft's assets and franchises for all stakeholders. Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materialises."