Ubisoft open to selling more minority stake bids similar to $1.2 billion Tencent deal

Ubisoft is open to divesting more of its assets to secure funds, intent that could pave the way for more bids similar to the $1.2 billion Tencent deal.

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Today, Ubisoft pressed the reset button on its gaming business. The company outlined a new model that sees its operations split across five different groups, or Creative Houses. Ubisoft split up its business in this way so it could secure a $1.2 billion investment from Tencent. In exchange, Tencent would receive a 25% stake in Ubisoft's highest-valued Creative House, which will oversee its 3 biggest franchises--Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.

However, the Tencent deal may only be the first, as Ubisoft CFO Frederick Duguet confirms that the group is still open to the idea of divestitures. This means that Ubisoft could sell minority stakes in other Creative Houses in exchange for adjusted values.

• Read more: Ubisoft reboots business with Creative House plan, reveals future of its biggest franchises
• Read more: Ubisoft's $1.3 billion deal with Tencent to close soon, new Creative Houses plan coming in 2026
• Read more: Ubisoft hesitant to confirm unannounced games as it weighs strategic and capitalistic options

Below is a quick transcript of the Q&A exchange between the analyst and Duguet from Ubisoft's impromptu conference call.

Analyst: "If I could just come back to my question on the balance sheet...when you say that you would sort of proceed as you had been doing, would that mean potentially going back and looking again at traditional refinancing options and looking at financial markets, or would it also potentially mean selling another minority stake, as you have done before?

"Or are all options on the table, and it's too soon to say anything?"

Ubisoft CFO Frederick Duguet:"We have different refinance options that we can work in the coming year and 18 months. And we will also continue to consider the divestiture of assets."

Ubisoft has stakes to sell in four other creative houses. Based on the reference images and the knowledge of the market, the other high-value creative houses are #2, which oversees Ghost Recon (40 million sales), Splinter Cell (30 million sales), and The Division (40 million players), and #5, which oversees the mega-popular Just Dance series (80 million sales).

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