Ubisoft on buyout possibilities: 'We can remain independent'

Ubisoft shrugs off direct questions about being acquired by a larger company like Sony or Microsoft.

Having fought off one hostile takeover against Vivendi, Ubisoft wants to remain as free as it can for as long as possible. Billion-dollar giants like Microsoft and Sony are flashing pocketbooks to buy up content IP to power their ecosystems of services and hardware.

Ubisoft is one of the last major games companies that hasn't been purchased...and that's how company executives want it to stay. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says the publisher is stable and doesn't technically have a reason to sell.

"Ubisoft can remain independent," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a recent Q3'21 earnings call.

"We have the talent, financial scale, and a launch portfolio of powerful IP. If there were an offer to buy us, the board of directors would review it in the interest in all stakeholders.

"We are always taking the interest of stakeholders (which includes players and investors) in our decision-making."

The statement is to be expected and any board of directors must at least review a buyout offer to some degree, but commitment is another story.