You ever get in a slump from reading a bunch of bad news? This happens a lot to conspiracy theorists, who end up feeling really depressed after weeks, months, or years of trying to connect endless accounts of murder, corruption, and revolution. I feel a little bit like that after trying get a comprehensive grasp of how Vivendi has influenced the video game industry in various ways over the years. Buyouts, mergers, buybacks, intimidation… Vivendi has earned a reputation for being a massive, out-of-touch, and self-serving company that has no business dictating the future of our favorite publishers.
Activision Blizzard spent over $2 billion back in 2013 to rid itself of Vivendi, and now the French mass media company has its sights set on Ubisoft. Vivendi has been aggressively acquiring significant shares of Ubisoft and Gameloft, the latter being co-founded by Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot. Vivendi recently acquired 30 percent of Gameloft, initiating a mandatory takeover bid under French law. Guillemot has stated in the past that Vivendi’s actions were “unsolicited and unwelcome,” and has recently met with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, likely to discuss investment, as Ubisoft employs thousands of people in Canada. Meanwhile, Vivendi is practically bribing shareholders to sell their shares by offering to pay 50% over their market value. We’ll be watching this unfold very carefully, making sure to keep you up on any interesting developments.
Source: EuroGamer