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[R_thanatos]

Why are people against the Vivendi takeover?

Boloré destroy every company it touches from a creative perspective.

That's how i see it , as a french citizen after bolore took over the C+ group and all creative heads either left or were forced to leave.

 

[TheRed]

Fuck all the Ubisoft hate trolling. They've consistently made games I love for generations of systems and have projects with diverse settings and diverse characters and also have made good PC versions of their games unlike some other shittier companies like WB that don't care at all, and then people scream generic when I don't see any other games doing what they're doing.

On topic, I hope they can prevent Vivendi takeover, that'll be a sad day.

 

[exmachina64]

I think it's because if you think Ubisoft is bad and anti-consumer now, it may very well be significantly worse under Vivendi.

And me personally, it just feels sad that a family company (despite being public) is threatened to get forcefully bought. Even if it's Ubisoft.

Past endeavors prior to and their time owning Activision Blizzard don't paint pretty pictures.

Remember when Activision was pumping out 4 Guitar Hero games a year?

Actually, it was 9 games in 2009. Nine

Because Vivendi care about short term profits and not long term gains. They turn whatever company they buy and turn it into a husk just to save themselves from debt. So yeah, a lot of people are against this.

Yves Guillemot's stance is that Vivendi does not understand the video game business and haven't explained what potential synergies they see between Ubisoft and Vivendi, despite Ubisoft's written requests. Also, Ubisoft isn't interested in working with Studio Canal (a French film production company/distributor owned by Vivendi) since they already work with the biggest studios from Hollywood

Bolloré has a habit of slowly buying shares of companies while denying he wants to take over, then takes over anyway, demands seats at the Board of Directors and finally fires/replaces top management.

Also, since Vincent Bolloré took over at Vivendi, TV station Canal Plus has been bleeding subscribers and hosts. It's editorial independence has suffered, too, with accusations of censoring news reports critical of Bolloré's business partners.

Boloré destroy every company it touches from a creative perspective.

That's how i see it , as a french citizen after bolore took over the C+ group and all creative heads either left or were forced to leave.

Thanks for the insights.

 

[bigboss370]

i really hope Vivendi doesn't take over.

Ubisoft is good people. Great variety of games.

 

[Afrikan]

Damn its almost sad watching Ubisoft using every tactic they can to fight off the monster trying to shallow them.

they should develop a game based off this.

 

[Mr Swine]

Because Vivendi care about short term profits and not long term gains. They turn whatever company they buy and turn it into a husk just to save themselves from debt. So yeah, a lot of people are against this.

So they are essentially EA then? They bought up Bullfrog, Maxis and Westwood and killed them, but people where okey with that I guess?

 

[Pestilence11]

I'm wondering this myself. I've need nothing change at all. :-/

If this would be a developer with a great pedigree that didn't do everything to screw the consumer over, I would feel bad for them.
But this is Ubisoft... A nice shakeup might be the best thing to happen to them in a damn long time.
And on the other hand, it's Vivendi. lol

"Let's go from arguably bad but improving to likely absolutely terrible!"

 

[Silent Chief]

Uh but doesn't this directly undermine Yves threats of talent exodus? If not enough employees buy shares, but a lot do nonetheless, those lots of employees will be more invested in the company rather than ready to cut ties due to a Vivendi takeover right?

Not really. The value of the shares will depends on what management does and most employees will have no impact on that. So if they are offered more money somewhere else, they lose nothing by leaving except job security, if any. Didn't the French government just change some laws to make it easier to lay offs employees?

 

[DoubleTake]

As much as I cant stand Ubi for the cookie cutter template a few of their biggest IPs follow, I love them for game like Child of Light, Valient Hearts, and Steep. Hopefully they can fight off Vivendi.

 

[Az987]

Is that considered a poison pill defense?

I was thinking about buying some stock in Ubi to make a quick buck since this seems imminent but their stock is pretty high, compared to past prices.

 

[meppi]

"Let's go from arguably bad but improving to likely absolutely terrible!"

If you can call not being able to release a game without several game-breaking bugs acceptable, then yeah, I can understand this viewpoint.
Heck, perhaps next year they will finally be able to release a serviceable version of Tetris that doesn't crash you to the homescreen, have seconds long frame drops that make it unplayable, sound that cost out and terrible framerate issues!

 

[N.Domixis]

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

Is there a reason they can't all quit and reform as a different company.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

If Ubisoft does get to 51% total, since that would be the majority of shares, would Vivendi still be able to try to take it over or no?

 

[PtM]

They could always leave with Yves for a new studio/another different studio and sell the shares in 2021 ?

But yeah that works better if Yves is still the boss.

But isn't 5y enough for Bollore to make those shares lose value?

 

[Pestilence11]

If you can call not being able to release a game without several game-breaking bugs acceptable, then yeah, I can understand this viewpoint.
Heck, perhaps next year they will finally be able to release a serviceable version of Tetris that doesn't crash you to the homescreen, have seconds long frame drops that make it unplayable, sound that cost out and terrible framerate issues!

You've got me on Tetris lol

I'm just saying they have improved as of late.

 

[Chev]

Is there a reason they can't all quit and reform as a different company.

A lot of Ubi's employees aren't exactly in love with their management (there's been ongoing problems between the Guillemots and their devs since 98 at the very least) and would not follow Guillemot, and many would also not take the risk of quitting a stable job for an uncertain future.

 

[Aters]

That's why you don't go public!

 

[jdstorm]

This may even mean Ubi has already found a buyer for 3% to negotiate control

I'd imagine Nintendo would definitely be in for 3% just to assure 3rd party support

 

[ChaosXVI]

I don't understand why one or more first party platform holder don't step in to do something to prevent this from happening, especially since it seems so certain that a Vivendi purchase will lead to Ubisoft (and more importantly, their properties) suffering a great deal.

Sony, Microsoft, and even Nintendo have a vested interested in Ubisoft staying Ubisoft. Nintendo especially because they are easily the largest Western 3rd party that provides any support beyond the bare minimum.

 

[bman94]

I don't know anything about shares, stocks or takeovers but can't a bigger publisher like Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft take control of Ubisoft?

 

[andythinkpad]

Not woth it for the employees in my opinion.
Assuming the value of the shares stays the same, they need to wait 5 years for just a 15% "growth".
If the value tanks, they're fucked.

They should ask for a better discount (something closer to 30%) so its worth the risk or let Ubisoft be taken over.

I agree its a pretty shitty deal.

My company offers 11% discount for stock, and you only need to hold it for 1 year. There is pretty no limit on how much you can buy from your pay check.

They need to give way higher discount for 5 year.

 

[Calm Mind]

Vivendi: It's not a threat. It's a promise.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

It would be disastrous. They always take risks, which rarely seems to get much respect in a lot of places.

 

[CaLe]

I agree its a pretty shitty deal.

My company offers 11% discount for stock, and you only need to hold it for 1 year. There is pretty no limit on how much you can buy from your pay check.

They need to give way higher discount for 5 year.

You guys should read the actual thing. Ubisoft matches the employee's contribution. Also, if the stock price tanks, they are guaranteed to get their initial investment + Ubisoft's investment. Furthermore, if the stock price does go up, employees make the increase in price times five.

So yes, it's a very good deal.

Ex:

1000 Euro employee investment

Price tanks: 1000 Euro (employee's investment) + 1000 Euro from Ubisoft's match. Employee gets 2000 euro in 5 years.

Price goes up by 5 Euro with an estimated initial stock price of 26 euro:

- 2000 Euro initial investment (1000 from the Employee + Ubisoft's match).
- 2000 / 26 = 76.9
- 76.9 * 5 Euro * 5 (Guaranteed multiplier) = 1923 Euro

Employee makes : 2000 Euro + 1923 Euro = 3923 Euro (from a 1000 Euro initial investment).

 

[terencecah]

Fuck all the Ubisoft hate trolling. They've consistently made games I love for generations of systems and have projects with diverse settings and diverse characters and also have made good PC versions of their games unlike some other shittier companies like WB that don't care at all, and then people scream generic when I don't see any other games doing what they're doing.

On topic, I hope they can prevent Vivendi takeover, that'll be a sad day.

I agree

I love ubisoft games

 

[Art Vandilay]

That 5 year stipulation is a beast though. I'd be unlikely to participate in that without a steeper discount

Same. It seems risky.

 

[mercenar1e]

I don't know anything about shares, stocks or takeovers but can't a bigger publisher like Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft take control of Ubisoft?

I'd be surprised if Sonys bathrooms are stocked with toilet paper at this point lol

 

[bomma_man]

I don't think I've bought a ubi developed game since beyond good and evil, but they are still easily the best of the mega publishers. I don't know why anyone would want them to be gutted.

 

[Blam]

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

Honestly there really isn't, and I really hope they can get ask much of their own stock as possible.

If Ubisoft does get to 51% total, since that would be the majority of shares, would Vivendi still be able to try to take it over or no?

Yeah in the essential sense they will still be in control of their company.

Also to those people selling their UBI Stock to Vivendi fuck you. You are killing a Giant you are ruining a huge franchise.

Also I really do believe that UBI should start to transfer Trademarks, IP, and anything of value to another company.

 

[Jachaos]

You guys should read the actual thing. Ubisoft matches the employee's contribution. Also, if the stock price tanks, they are guaranteed to get their initial investment + Ubisoft's investment. Furthermore, if the stock price does go up, employees make the increase in price times five.

So yes, it's a very good deal.

Ex:

1000 Euro employee investment

Price tanks: 1000 Euro (employee's investment) + 1000 Euro from Ubisoft's match. Employee gets 2000 euro in 5 years.

Price goes up by 5 Euro with an estimated initial stock price of 26 euro:

- 2000 Euro initial investment (1000 from the Employee + Ubisoft's match).
- 2000 / 26 = 76.9
- 76.9 * 5 Euro * 5 (Guaranteed multiplier) = 1923 Euro

Employee makes : 2000 Euro + 1923 Euro = 3923 Euro (from a 1000 Euro initial investment).

Oh. That's actually really good. The initial thing didn't make it sound like anything exceptional but these additional details make more sense.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

You don't know what you've got til it's gone.

 

[Spring Drive]

Meanwhile...

Vivendi Chairman Vincent Bolloré Says Company Wants to Increase Investment in French Films

Just a month after warning that Canal Plus’ six pay TV channels would fold if escalating losses continued, Vincent Bolloré, the chairman of Canal Plus’ parent company Vivendi, said on Wednesday during a hearing at the Senate, that he thought Canal Plus was back in shape.

The Senate hearing comes two weeks after Canal Plus was denied by the anti-trust board to sign a distribution deal with Al Jazeera’s BeIN Sports, which Bollore had presented as the only remedy to make Canal Plus profitable again — an argument which, along with his claim that he considered shutting down Canal Plus, was seen as a lobbying push.

Bollore, who attended the hearing with Canal Plus Group president Jean-Christophe Thiery, Vivendi’s deputy CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine and managing director Maxime Saada, addressed various concerns raised by senators, notably the financial health of the pay TV company, and reports that Canal Plus’ pay TV channels could fold if it was not allowed to distribute BeIN Sports channels, that Canal Plus was considering a revision of its investment in French films and would attempt to concentrate its investment in movies as well as start producing in-house.

Dressed in a chic light grey suit and speaking with a slight accent from his native Brittany, the French billionaire proved once again his showman’s talent with a rhetoric filled with unexpected metaphors which alternatively drew chuckles, puzzled looks and gazes of admiration from his collaborators and senators.

Bollore had to prove his good faith by justifying before the Senate his previous claim that Canal Plus would be losing 400 million Euros in 2016, but at the same time Bollore had to reassure Senate members on the viability of his strategy, which has been intensely criticized since he took the helm of the group in June of 2015.

(...)

Bollore concurred that “Canal Plus Group as a whole remains profitable with the film activity making 600 million Euros in turnover and 50 to 60 million Euros in annual revenues, an international activity making 2.5 billion in turnover and 250 million Euros in revenues and CanalSat making 1.2 billion Euros in turnover and between 200 and 250 million Euros in revenue.”

Added Bollore, “but the fact is that Canal Plus lost 260 million Euros in 2015, is losing 400 million Euros in 2016 (and an estimated) 460 million Euros in 2017.”

(...)

“I think that, in reality, Canal Plus is back on its feet. I think that under the ground, once you’ve removed the stones, the roots, put in the fertilizers and the grains, with the water and the sun, things will grown at one point; people are not rejoicing yet but results will be visible quite fast,” said Bollore.

The businessman, who likes talking about Brittany origins, told senators, “I come from the West, where the oyster moves under the lemon but remains an oyster. … I don’t mind taking all the heat and thunders as long my teams can keep working and implement our strategic vision without being disturbed.”

Contradicting local reports, Bollore said Vivendi had no plans to reduce its backing of French movies. “We invest 500 million per year in movies, 200 million in French cinema alone and we co-produce 200 films per year, some big, medium and lots of small ones. We wish to keep investing in French cinema, and even increase it,” said the topper, also mentioning the group’s big push on drama series for its pay TV channels and mobile-native series for its newly-launched platform Studio Plus.

Reacting to criticism that he gets involved in the editorial content of Canal Plus — in particular news and documentary programs (following the last-minute axing of an investigative doc on the financial institution Credit Mutuel) — Bollore said the accusations originated from employees unhappy with the company’s “budget diet.” “This bashing reminds me of that expression saying ‘the one who wants to drown his dog claims he has rabies,'” quipped Bollore.

Certainly targeting the anti-trust board, Bollore emphasized the necessity to allow Vivendi to consolidate in order to become a European “champion” that could rival Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

“If you keep putting up anti-trust measures, no French company will be able to become a champion. These anti-trust concerns are absurd. It’s as if Disney was banned from having a ‘Mickey’ ride or do a cartoon on ‘Snow White.’ In every company in the world we talk about synergies,” said Bollore.

“The convergence between telecoms and content creators is intensifying and the competition within the next few years is going to be extraordinary harsh with the arrival of GAFAs (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon). It’s like the invasions that Europe saw in the the year 400 and thereafter,” continued Bollore.

The chairman gave some figures to compare the GAFA’s financial strength — which he estimates at 500 billion in value at the stock exchange — compared with French players: TF1 is worth 2 billion Euros, Lagardere 3 billion Euros and Vivendi 25 billion Euros.

The management of Canal Plus has been under heavy scrutiny since a significant chunk of employees and animators have either been fired or left the company since Bollore took control of the outfit a year ago. Roman Bessi, the COO of Studiocanal — the film and TV production/distribution arm of Canal Plus Group — is the last high-ranking exec to leave the outfit.

Vivendi will hold a press conference on Monday to present what it calls “the new Canal.”

https://variety.com/2016/film/globa...stment-movies-canal-plus-channels-1201802089/

 

[swit]

Don't go public if you don't want to be taken over.

Nah, just manage your shares better. For example take a look at CD PROJEKT S.A. shareholder structure:
https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/shareholders/
In management hands (M. Kiciński, Iwiński, Nielubowicz, A. Kiciński): 31,40%
Free Float: 44.69%
Long-term investment groups including Poland state backed ones: 17,92%

and UBI:
https://www.boerse-stuttgart.de/en/Ubisoft-Entertainment-stock-FR0000054470-Portrait-195
In management hands (Guillemot brothers): 9,44%
Free float: 61,65%

 

[Warablo]

"So, Bill, are you going to buy some shares, or are you not a team player?"

Lmao

All jokes aside, I dont want Ubisoft to die.

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

 

[Vinterbird]

If Ubisoft go under I don't think you guys realise just how catastrophic this is for the industry. Ubisoft are pretty much the shining light in AAA game development these days. There isn't a replacement for Ubisoft.

Not sure if you're sarcastic. But they are one of the few massive publishers that actually push new IP forward.

The hate and negativity surrounding Ubisoft is really weird considering most of their games are good, sell well and they do new IP / drastic changes to existing IP almost every year.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Not sure if you're sarcastic. But they are one of the few massive publishers that actually push new IP forward.

The hate and negativity surrounding Ubisoft is really weird considering most of their games are good, sell well and they do new IP / drastic changes to existing IP almost every year.

Not even a little sarcastic. They're by far the best AAA publisher out there. They take risks and have massive variety in their library. They closed their E3 conference this year with Steep for crying out loud. What other AAA publisher would fund something like that let alone give it such a big spotlight? They push new IP constantly. Their smaller titles such as Valiant Hearts for example are absolutely fantastic. Even their big popular titles are top quality and they are always trying new things.

 

[Spring Drive]

Ubisoft boss: 'We are the best future for the company'

A defiant Ubisoft united at E3 last week as the threat of a Vivendi takeover increases.

At the end of the firm’s pre-E3 press conference, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot took to the stage - flanked by several of his biggest developers - and told the assembled media that the freedom he gives his studios is “what got us here today and that is what will drive us for another 30 years.”

It follows hostile activity from Vivendi, which has now secured a 20.1 per cent stake in Ubisoft. The firm insists it is not ‘considering the launch of a public tender’ on Ubisoft, but it did complete an unwanted takeover of mobile games creators Gameloft last month - a company run by Yves Guillemot’s brother Michel.

Speaking to MCV at the show, EMEA boss Alain Corre did not reference Vivendi directly. But he told MCV that ‘large industrial conglomerates’ threaten the creative freedom of a company like Ubisoft.

“What our creative teams enjoy at Ubisoft is the certain freedom to innovate, create and to be independent,” he told MCV. “Also, the decisions we are able to take sometimes are ones that are good for the games. When we decided to postpone The Division, twice, it was a very complicated, painful decision in terms of financial implications. But we felt it was a necessity for the game to be really polished and for it make a big strike and put a smile on the faces of fans who bought it day one.

“Our creative teams know the games will not be ruined by short term obligations. They feel confident, they feel they can express themselves - within a certain frame - so that we can win in the end. That is a uniqueness of Ubisoft and its culture.”

He added: “For big conglomerates, for big industrial groups, for sure it is not the case [that they put the games before financial targets]. But for us, and our shareholders, it is very important. The decision to postpone The Division into March was questioned by our shareholders, but they believed we knew what we were doing and that, at the end of the day, it would be beneficial for them. We created a fantastic franchise, more than 10m people have played it now, and everybody has been very happy - including our shareholders.

“We are all gamers, we share this passion, but also we are trying to create value for our shareholders, which is something we have been doing for the past 20 years.

“Last week, we had a finance conference, and our shareholders are very confident in our strategy. That is reassuring and shows that the way Ubisoft is being managed is the best way for everybody.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ubisoft-boss-we-are-the-best-future-for-the-company/0169015

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Hm. If Vivendi gets control of Ubisoft, we're going to see some real downgrades. Downgrades to everything.