Ubisoft has a laundry list of IPs and franchises under its belt, though the major ones that we know of – Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six, mainly – keep the company afloat as one of the leading publishers in the industry. However, a new report claims that Microsoft and EA are closing in to acquire IP from Ubisoft, though it will likely be the company’s smaller franchises.
As reported by IGN, a minority shareholder in Ubisoft is trying to organise a protest outside of Ubisoft’s headquarters in Paris, stating that the company failed to disclose some alleged discussions with Microsoft, EA and other publishers apparently interested in acquiring some of its intellectual properties.
Juraj Krúpa, CEO of AJ Investments, told IGN that Ubisoft failed to disclose to investors “discussions between Microsoft, EA, and others that are interested in acquiring IPs from Ubisoft.” While it’s easy to think that Ubisoft might be selling off its core franchises, the more likely scenario is that the properties consist of the company’s smaller franchises. Some comments have pointed out that these could include Rayman, Riders Republic, The Crew and even Watch Dogs, which at this point has been put on ice by Ubisoft.
Unfortunately, no specific IP were mentioned so it’s all left up to speculation. Since it’s seemingly in the discussions phase, there’s a chance that deals may or may not go through.
The more pressing concern regarding the report is Ubisoft’s alleged failure to disclose behind-closed-doors deals and discussions to investors, it seems. Ubisoft shared the following statement to IGN in the wake of the forming protest:
“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.”
Source: IGN
