EA Completes Ubi Share Purchase News
Chris Leyton
03/02/2005
EA becomes the largest shareholder in Ubisoft, whilst not ruling out future acquisitions...
Electronic Arts today confirmed that itâs previously announced acquisition of 3,497,049 shares of Ubisoft Entertainment has been completed, from Talpa Beheer B.V for a purchase price of 68,856,894 euros (£47,473,137).
EAâs stake within the French publisher now stands just short of 20%, however that may not be enough for the US giant, who recently refused to rule out purchasing additional shares and may opt to take a controlling stake.
"At its quarterly conference call with financial analysts, EA stated it wanted to keep all its options open regarding this investment and could buy more Ubisoft shares, possibly a controlling stake," EA said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Warren Jenson, EA Finance Director, is quoted as saying "If something happens, we expect it to be with the full cooperation of Ubisoft." Despite the claims, Jenson later stated that the share acquisition marked a âgood investmentâ for EA, and that EA was ready to remain a long-term minority shareholder.
Despite not holding a controlling stake, the acquisition makes EA the largest shareholder within Ubisoft, ahead of Ubisoftâs founders the Guillemot brothers, who together own 17.5%.
Weâll have more information on the subject soon.