Tencent and Ubisoft announce billion-dollar partnership, Tencent buys 25% stake in new group

BREAKING: Ubisoft has announced that it will form a new subsidiary thanks to a $1.2 billion investment from Tencent.

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Following economic stress, internal strife, and many months of negotiations with prospective business partners interested in Ubisoft's treasure trove of assets, the French games-maker has now made a decision on the future of its business.

Tencent has invested 1.16 billion euros ($1.2 billion) into a new Ubisoft subsidiary. Tencent has a minority stake in this new subsidiary, or 25% of stake, and the new subsidiary will have exclusive rights to make games in the Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, and Rainbow Six franchises. The subsidiary has been valued at in excess of $4 billion, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2025. The teams developing these games are also included in the deal.

As per the agreement:

"Tencent would invest in the new subsidiary which is headquartered in France and 100% owned by Ubisoft immediately prior to the transaction. Specifically, at closing of the transaction, Tencent would invest a total amount of EUR1.16bn for an approximate 25% economic interest in the New subsidiary, that will be used to strengthen Ubisoft's balance sheet by significantly reducing its consolidated net debt position, accelerate the Group's transformation, and sustain growth of selected franchises. After closing of the transaction, the new subsidiary would remain exclusively controlled and consolidated by Ubisoft.

"The new subsidiary would include the teams developing the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Assassin's Creed and Far Cry franchises based in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia as well as the back-catalog and any new games currently under development or to be developed."

"The new subsidiary would have a dedicated leadership team, supervised by a Board of Directors, focused on enhancing creative vision and streamlining operations, with the authority to make swift, high-impact decisions across development, marketing, and distribution, to ensure these brands continue to evolve, attract new audiences, and deliver groundbreaking gaming experiences for years to come."

Here's more details from the press release:

"Today, Ubisoft announced that it is accelerating its transformation by taking an important step in rapidly evolving its operating model with the creation of a dedicated subsidiary based on its Assassin's Creed®, Far Cry®, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® brands.

"Following the formal and competitive selection process initiated by the Group earlier this year, Tencent's will invest €1.16bn for a minority stake in the new subsidiary. This new subsidiary will focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform. Backed by greater investment and boosted creative capacities, it will drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, introduce free-to-play touchpoints, and integrate more social features."