Ubisoft plans to buy back up to 4 million shares to fend off a hostile takeover from French media conglomerate Vivendi.
In a brief press release, the Assassin’s Creed creator explained it’s granted a mandate to an unnamed investment services provider, allowing it to repurchase shares on Ubisoft’s behalf.
All repurchased shares will then be cancelled by Ubisoft, preventing them from being reissued on the market and potentially purchased by Vivendi.
It’s another small victory for the studio, which is attempting to secure its independence and push back against Vivendi’s repeated advances.
Vivendi currently holds a 26 percent stake in Ubisoft, and French law would require the firm to make a mandatory takeover bid once it owns more than 30 percent.
The threat of a hostile takeover has been looming over Ubisoft for some time now, with Vivendi first buying into the company back in 2015.
Since then, Ubisoft has come out on the offensive, and has reiterated its desire to remain autonomous time and time again.
It’s a tactic that seems to be working, with Vivendi CEO Stephane Roussel recently revealing the company isn’t sure whether to table a takeover bid or simply sell off its stock and move on.
The latter would surely be welcomed by Ubisoft’s founding family, the Guillemots, who recently raised their own stake in the company.