Ubisoft’s shares rose 11% on Friday after fresh claims that Assassin’s Creed was attracting acquisition interest.
Several private equity firms, including Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co., have been studying the game publisher, according to Bloomberg.
“Ubisoft has not entered into any serious talks with a potential acquirer, and it is unclear whether its major shareholders are willing to enter into a deal,” the publication said.
Ubisoft declined to comment on any acquisition interest.
Ubisoft is one of the largest third-party game publishers in the world, with brands such as Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Just Dance.
The French company has been the subject of a lot of speculation in recent months as the consolidation trend in the gaming industry has grown.
M&A activity in the gaming industry hit a record $85 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $150 billion this year, with mega deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga already announced in the first few months of 2022.
Ubisoft was asked during an earnings call in February whether it believed it could guarantee access to the various gaming platforms on which it releases games in the future if it resisted any consolidation happening in the industry. Chief executive Yves Guillemot said he believed it would.
“We will continue to have access to all these platforms because all platforms need great content. If we continue to make great content like we do today, we will be able to access all of these platforms,” he said.
“If we look at Nintendo…we are the number one third-party publisher. Nintendo has a lot to do with what we do and [we are] Even developing games with their brand, so the collaboration is there and very productive. “
The executive said he believed Ubisoft could remain independent, but any proposed acquisition of the company would be scrutinized in the interest of its stakeholders.
