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[Sho_Nuff82]

Searched and didn't find anything.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8372&Itemid=2

By way of the financial times.

A columnist with the Financial Times suggests that the success of Assassin's Creed has staved off any plans for Electronic Arts to acquire Ubisoft.
ImageWith Assassin's Creed selling 2.5 million units in a single month, Ubisoft's price tag just got higher, making it less susceptible to a hostile takeover by shareholder and competitor Electronic Arts, said an article in the Financial Times.

"The success of Assassin’s Creed has helped Ubisoft increase its market value to €3bn ($4.3bn), making it all that more expensive as a target," stated the column.

In December 2004, Redwood City, Calif.-based EA bought a 20 percent stake in Paris, France-based rival Ubisoft. Since then, the stake has dropped to 15 percent. EA's purchase of shares was unsolicited, and considered "hostile" by Ubisoft.

The recent $18.9 billion Activision Blizzard merger has people wondering how the new entity's largest competitor will react. EA told Next-Gen following the news that the merger "doesn't change" EA's strategy. The firm announced plans to acquire BioWare/Pandemic in October in a deal worth over $800 million.

Ubisoft didn't expect Assassin's Creed to sell as well as it has. The publisher originally expected to sell 3 million units during the entire fiscal year ending in March. Ubisoft has now upped that projection to 5 million, and upgraded its 2007-2008 fiscal year sales forecast to €840 million ($1.2 billion), with around €410 million for the third quarter. Previous forecasts projected €825 million and €330 million, respectively.

Even the people who hate the game have to agree this is awesome news.

 

[duk]

nice

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Cool beans

 

[muckhole]

Wow. I had all but forgotten about that 20% stake EA had bought. Good news.

 

[Oblivion]

Holy shit, Ubisoft is worth $4 billion?

 

[Y2Kev]

I kind of wanted this to happen. I wanted an ActivisionBlizzard/EAbisoft battle for all the marbles.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Nintendo can still afford them.

 

[HK-47]

Huzzah!

 

[Sharp]

Nintendo can still afford them.

Ew, can you imagine AC on the Wii? Yes, I know it's going to DS, but seriously the aesthetics are like 80% of the appeal of the game.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Nintendo can still afford them.

Or even General Motors.

Spoiler

Hopefully Tyson Chicken can get in on this before Tylenol

 

[Fatghost]

Or even General Motors.

Spoiler

Hopefully Tyson Chicken can get in on this before Tylenol

Don't forget the railroads!

 

[tino]

Jade Raymond saved Unisoft, who could have thought.

Can they promo her to Paris so she won't fuck up Assasin's Creed 2?

 

[Darkman M]

Nintendo can still afford them.

I thought Nintendo was worth like 4 billion? and 4 billion for ubisoft sounds very high.......

 

[ivysaur12]

Ew, can you imagine AC on the Wii? Yes, I know it's going to DS, but seriously the aesthetics are like 80% of the appeal of the game.

There's going to be a DS Assassin's Creed? The hell?

 

[Dai Kaiju]

Thank Buddha

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

I thought Nintendo was worth like 4 billion? and 4 billion for ubisoft sounds very high.......

Na. Nintendo had like 6 billion in reserve before the DS even came out. I would imagine by now it would be around 10 billion (I could have sworn i read that somewhere too). Either way, they have a shit ton and I wish they would aquire mores studios to supplements the types of games they don't make like RPGs, like they did with Monolith.

 

[Bildi]

I should go and buy another copy.

 

[Narag]

There's going to be a DS Assassin's Creed? The hell?

I'm actually interested this but I've seen no media so far.

 

[Matt]

I thought Nintendo was worth like 4 billion? and 4 billion for ubisoft sounds very high.......

Nintendo's market capitalization is about 80 billion dollars.

 

[mm04]

See? All of us who bought this game helped fight against the Evil Empire! Take that AltogetherAndrews! We served a higher purpose in this one.

 

[gcfan2k5]

I thought Nintendo was worth like 4 billion? and 4 billion for ubisoft sounds very high.......

Nintendo is worth over 80bln, and has over 10bln in cash on hand. They could buy Ubi in a second if they felt the need. Same goes for any of the smaller publishers.


The only publishers that Nintendo couldnt afford buy outright are EA and Activision at this time. (this of course assumes that enough shares in said companies can be wrestled away from the various shareholders).

 

[Troidal]

Good. Last thing I want to see is a UbEAsoft.

 

[Darkman M]

^ To the guys above i had no idea Nintendo was banking like that and they are all video games impressive.

 

[Defuser]

Doesn't the French government disallow buying out of French companies by foreigners?

 

[Odrion]

Wow, Assassin's Creed is a nice success.

 

[Linkup]

One game saved them? They must be in a bad position.

 

[DiddyBop]

nintendo is worth 80 billion and has 10 billion they just sittin on collecting interest? cot damn.

 

[mj1108]

nintendo is worth 80 billion and has 10 billion they just sittin on collecting interest? cot damn.

Basically, yeah.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

One game saved them? They must be in a bad position.

'Bad' is relative. If EA was seeking them in the range of 2.5 billion, and their market price shot over 4 billion, that's quite a hefty bit of change.

Remember, Bioware and Pandemic were acquired for the ridiculously large (but comparatively small) sum of 800 million.

 

[Mr.Potato Head]

Nintendo can still afford them.

Mr. Dollar Bill (gates) can afford UBIsoft and Nintendo..out of his own pocket

 

[grandjedi6]

Now for Beyond Good and Evil 2....

 

[Rhindle]

Hopefully, the Ubisoft Montreal team is getting a round of big ass Christmas bonuses. They deserve it.

 

[Azelover]

Mr. Dollar Bill (gates) can afford UBIsoft and Nintendo..out of his own pocket

I'm not too sure about that.

Maybe Ubisoft, but keep in mind he'd have to pay a premium for Nintendo.

He'd probably be better off buying Sony Corp. since they're worth less than Nintendo and do more than videogames.

 

[bathala]

I hope EA doesn't touch Ubi at all

 

[DrXym]

I doubt the EU would have allowed EA to buy Ubisoft.

 

[Roat]

Reminds me of when Vivendi were trying to sell off their games division to help themselves out years back and couldn't find any buyers. Look where they are now and how different it could have been.

 

[grandjedi6]

Mr. Dollar Bill (gates) can afford UBIsoft and Nintendo..out of his own pocket

Neither of these are true, Bill Gates net worth isn't even as much as Nintendo's

I doubt the EU would have allowed EA to buy Ubisoft.

I have my doubts that the EU could stop it

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

But what does Ubisoft have in the pipeline that will keep them safe? No major game in the next year springs to mind when i think of them.

Meanwhile, I can think of many by default from EA that would Put Ubi back in grabbing distance.

 

[squicken]

Even the people who hate the game have to agree this is awesome news.

While I'd normally agree with you, I'm going to remain skeptical until AltogetherAndrews wakes up.

 

[gray_fox224]

I have criticized AC for some gameplay short comings, but after hearing this, I have to say that I have new found respect for it.

 

[Roat]

But what does Ubisoft have in the pipeline that will keep them safe? No major game in the next year springs to mind when i think of them.

Meanwhile, I can think of many by default from EA that would Put Ubi back in grabbing distance.

The regulars; R6: Vegas 2 and Splinter Cell 5

 

[trinest]

One game saved them? They must be in a bad position.

Nah Rayman Raving Rabbids saved them. They just don't wanna admit it.

 

[MrPonx]

Although I have only a Wii

I'm happy to say I contributed to this by 2 copies


IMO it's an awesome game an it deserves the success

 

[gcfan2k5]

Mr. Dollar Bill (gates) can afford UBIsoft and Nintendo..out of his own pocket

Typically for a large scale buyout of shares (assuming said shares are available and people are even remotely willing to sell them), you need to pony up around three times the value for each share. To buy a controlling stake in Nintendo (if it were for sale, which it isnt, at any price), a company would need to pony up to the tune of $120bln in cold hard cash. Microsoft cant generate that kind of capital without destroying itself in the process, neither could any other company. Nintendo is officially too big to purchase, and the fact that things are going well for them makes it all the harder for anyone to try.

Mr. Gates, with all due respect, couldnt even buy enough shares for a seat on the board (they arent for sale).

 

[Brashnir]

I kind of wanted this to happen. I wanted an ActivisionBlizzard/EAbisoft battle for all the marbles.

sounds like a recipe for disaster. there's safety in diversity. Having all the eggs in one or two baskets could lead to another big crash.

 

[Roat]

Mr. Gates, with all due respect, couldnt even buy enough shares for a seat on the board (they arent for sale).

That reminds me of the Xbox days where Gates said he'd love to buy out Nintendo. It was a lot more realistic back then. What a difference a hardware generation makes.

 

[trinest]

sounds like a recipe for disaster. there's safety in diversity. Having all the eggs in one or two baskets could lead to another big crash.

We need a big crash.

 

[Awntawn]

... all to be put back in jeopardy when they see the sales of Haze amirite :lol

Spoiler

kidding, i'm actually looking forward to Haze D;

 

[shintoki]

That reminds me of the Xbox days where Gates said he'd love to buy out Nintendo. It was a lot more realistic back then. What a difference a hardware generation makes.

Actually they did make an offer If I remember correctly.

 

[Nidain]

Doesn't the French government disallow buying out of French companies by foreigners?

No. Ubisoft is a privately owned company and can be bought by anyone.
Ubisoft have to work on the control of their shares or they will be bought soon or late.