Vivendi Could Hold Off Its Hostile Takeover Of Ubisoft To Chase After Another Company

We've been hearing over the past few months that Vivendi has shown interest in taking over Ubisoft, by buying out shares in the company. However, Ubisoft has been retaliating, buying back more stock in the company to avoid such a takeover. And it appears to be taking an effect on Vivendi, as a result.

Speaking with Le Figar, Gameloft's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephane Roussel (a company acquired by Vivendi), noted that the company is looking to get a bigger presence in the video game industry, but Ubisoft apparently isn't the only option on the table, as it noted it's not entirely "Ubisoft or nothing."

While it does see Ubisoft as the "most natural solution," that doesn't indicate it's the only one, as Roussel said that other companies are being pursued – especially since the attempt to acquire Ubisoft is becoming a bit more expensive.

The company has attempted to control companies in the past by purchasing stakes. For instance, a few years ago, it bought a good chunk of Activision Blizzard – this was at the time that games like Scarface: The World Is Yours, Crash of the Titans and The Legend of Spyro were being released for consoles. However, since that time, Activision Blizzard has re-acquired its shares, and Vivendi has moved on to other business.

So now tcomes the real question – what if? Vivendi started by buying a small stake in Ubisoft, but now it stands somewhere around 22.8 percent, controlling about 20 percent of the voting rights. That jumped a small percentage since that time, but Ubisoft still retains control of its business. Vivendi has noted it would consider a "second phase" of the takeover, but has yet to initiate it. And, as we mentioned, Ubisoft has been fighting at every turn, focusing on its business with forthcoming games like South Park: The Fractured But Whole and Assassin's Creed Origins.

The next few months could be interesting in terms of seeing what Vivendi's next move is, but it sounds like Ubisoft isn't too thrilled about the idea of being overtaken. Gotta wonder what's going to happen next.

(Thanks to GameZone for some of the details!)