Media conglomerate Vivendi has successfully seized control of the mobile game publisher Gameloft, and it looks like they’re not done yet. Next up: Ubisoft.
The Paris-based Vivendi, which owned Activision Blizzard until late 2013, has been gobbling up shares in both game companies for the past few months as part of a hostile takeover attempt. Vivendi’s strategy has been simple: offer shareholders an inflated price in order to convince them to sell.
This week saw victory #1, as Vivendi now has majority ownership in Gameloft, the company best known for games like Modern Combat and Asphalt.
“You will join shortly an international content and media group where creativity is the heart of its organization and its activities,” Vivendi’s management said in a letter to Gameloft employees today. “We are very pleased to welcome you and to pool your talents with ours, so that together, we will be a stronger presence on the worldwide entertainment market.”
Both Ubisoft and Gameloft, also based on Paris, are run by the Guillemot brothers. Vivendi has been slowly purchasing Ubisoft shares and now owns around 17% of that publisher, much to Yves Guillemot’s dismay. Ubisoft has been fighting back by approaching Canadian investors in hopes of getting long-term commitments from shareholders who won’t sell to Vivendi.