Vivendi to sell its entire stake in Ubisoft

Following years of tension about a takeover with a majority stakeholder Vivendi, publisher Ubisoft has reached an agreement for that company to to sell its entire stake of 30,489,300 shares.

The transaction includes an investment by two new long-term investors, the Relationship Investing arm of Ontario Teachers’ Public Equities division, and Tencent, a share buy-back by Ubisoft, an acquisition of shares by Guillemot Brothers SE and an Accelerated Bookbuilding with institutional investors. Following the implementation of the transaction, Vivendi will no longer hold any shares in Ubisoft, and has committed not to acquire any shares in Ubisoft for 5 years.

As part of the transaction, Ubisoft and Tencent have also announced today a strategic partnership that will significantly accelerate the reach of Ubisoft franchises in China in the coming years.

Ontario Teachers’ has committed to acquire 3,787,878 Ubisoft shares (3.4% of capital), equivalent to approximately €250 million and Tencent has committed to acquire 5,591,469 Ubisoft shares (5.0% of capital). These investments are made at a price of €66 per share and do not grant any representation on Ubisoft’s board of directors. Tencent has also undertaken not to transfer its shares nor to increase its shareownership and votings rights in Ubisoft.

Ubisoft agreed to buy back up to 9,090,909 of its own shares (8.1% of capital) from Vivendi through a structured transaction. Guillemot Brothers SE agreed to acquire 3,030,303 shares (2.7% of capital) at a price of €66 per share, bringing Guillemot Brothers SE’s ownership to 17,406,414 shares representing 19.4% of voting rights and 15.6% of share capital and the Guillemot concert to 20,636,193 shares, representing 24.6% of voting rights and 18.5% of share capital.

The transaction will be launched today. Final terms as well as the outcome of the placement will be determined at the end of the bookbuilding expected on March 21, 2018. Settlement will take place two trading days after closing of bookbuilding.

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