Reuters: Tencent wants to become Ubisoft’s largest shareholder

Chinese tech giant Tencent wants to become the largest shareholder of French game publisher Ubisoft. That is what Reuters says on the basis of several sources. Tencent is said to have already contacted the Guillemot family, which owns 13.2 percent of Ubisoft.

Tencent has according to Reuters already owns 5 percent of the shares of Ubisoft, but wants to increase that percentage. For this it looks, among other things, to the French Guillemot family who founded Ubisoft in 1986 and currently still 13.2 percent of the shares owned by the publisher. According to the international news agency, other investors are also being contacted to buy shares.

Tencent’s initiative comes after Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, stated a few months ago that the company was open to a possible takeover. “Ubisoft can remain independent. Our properties are sought after by the biggest global players in entertainment and tech. That said, if there is an offer to buy us, the board of directors would of course look closely at it, bearing in mind the importance of shareholders in mind,” it sounded at the time.

Tencent wants to avoid the restrictions of the Chinese government with these investments, according to Reuters. He shared for nine months no licenses more for games that can also generate revenue. Since April of this year, licenses have been distributed again.

Last year, Tencent also came into conflict with the Chinese government. Tencent was then temporarily unable to update apps and games in China because they were subject to an inspection by the authorities who wanted to check whether too much personal data was being collected. Last year, the Chinese authorities also imposed new rules that allow minors to play online Chinese games for three hours a week. According to local authorities, the rules were intended to protect the mental and physical health of children. Game companies are also required to register the real identities of underage gamers in China. Tencent even stated that it wanted to use facial recognition for this.

Tencent is the largest gaming company in the world. The Chinese tech giant has smartphone games such as Honor of Kings, Clash of Clans, PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile in its portfolio and rakes in billions annually. Tencent’s gaming arm is nearly three times the size of Activision-Blizzard, the largest “traditional” game publisher.