Vivendi purchases more Ubisoft shares as hostile takeover looms

Multinational conglomerate Vivendi has continued its attempted takeover of French video game giant Ubisoft, having purchased further shares in the company following positive earnings announced at the beginning of November.

Vivendi announced in a press release that, as of 4 November 2016, it owns more than 24% of shares in the company. That's 24.059% to be precise and includes 21.296% of the voting rights within the company.

If the company wishes to effectively takeover the publisher, it will continue to purchase shares until it hits the 30% cap put in place by French law. The Guillemot family, who founded the company, currently has a 12.5% share.

In September, at the company's annual shareholders meeting, Vivendi was denied representation of on the board of directors, leaving the company with little choice than to pursue a hostile takeover.

Vivendi hopes its influence will be able to allow Ubisoft to compete better with the likes of EA and Activision Blizzard.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has been fighting off Vivendi for some time, even taking to the stage at E3 in June with a public display of defiance.

"We won't relax until they sell their shares," Guillemot told the Wall Street Journal ahead of September's shareholders meeting. "The creeping control strategy implemented by Vivendi is dangerous. We think that there's a great risk of shareholders losing value."

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