Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot says Tencent's upcoming €1.16 billion (around $1.33 billion) investment in its new subsidiary Vantage Studios – responsible for its largest franchises including Assassin's Creed – is "imminent."
In Ubisoft's latest earnings results, the Ubisoft CEO and co-founder states: "The closing of our strategic transaction with Tencent – which will see Tencent become a minority shareholder in our new subsidiary, Vantage Studios – is now imminent, as all conditions precedent have been satisfied." The deal is currently "on track to close in the coming days," the financial report reveals.
Guillemot says that "this marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft's transformation, significantly strengthening our financial position by bringing in €1.16 billion of cash, enabling the Group to deleverage, as planned." That's not to mention that "it will also empower Vantage Studios to accelerate the growth of our three flagship IPs under a dedicated leadership team."
Ubisoft calls Vantage Studios a "creative house," previously revealing that it will "take on development and expansion" of the Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry franchises. It's set to be led by Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, and Tencent's investment in it will give it a roughly 25% stake.
Today, CEO Guillemot states that Vantage Studios "represents a key element of the transformation of the company towards a new operating model built around Creative Houses," with the company set to have "finalized the design of this new organization by the end of the year," and details to be revealed in January. Each creative house is set to have its own creative vision, roadmap, and leadership.
Also in the earnings results, Guillemot states that this quarter, while Rainbow Six Siege saw "softer trends" amid "an intense FPS environment," this was "offset by strong performances across the rest of the catalog." Guillemot says: "The Assassin's Creed franchise exceeded our expectations, confirming its positive momentum and ability to engage players over time. The Division 2 also continued to perform strongly, benefiting from the momentum of the Battle for Brooklyn DLC, with the game's first semester already exceeding last year’s annual bookings."
