Deals
Vivendi Raises Stake in Assassin's Creed Video-Game Empire
- Says may buy more of Ubisoft, Gameloft and seek board seats
- $10-billion cash pile gives Vivendi more room for maneuver
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Vivendi SA increased pressure on the Guillemot family’s French video-game empire, famous for blockbusters like Assassin’s Creed, by raising its stakes in Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Gameloft SE and saying it may eventually want some board seats.
The French media company with a $10 billion cash pile and run by Chairman Vincent Bollore, a billionaire with an activist investor past, increased its holding in the two developers to more than 10 percent and signaled Thursday it may add to the stakes as it expands its content business. Vivendi owns 10.4 percent of Ubisoft and 10.2 percent of Gameloft after spending about 438 million euros ($496 million) in total.