NEWS - Friday, February 18, 2005
EA, Ubisoft In Early Talks
EA, Ubisoft in Early Talks February 16, 2005 - Electronic Arts is currently in talks with Ubisoft, according to a Reuters story today. The article references a report by the Wall Street Journal that the two companies are discussing share pricing for a takeover buy, as well as restructuring Ubisoft management. Late last year, EA bought nearly 20 percent of the French publisher and developer, and is now Ubisoft’s largest shareholder, with 20.88 percent voting rights. Ubisoft has previously said that it views EA’s bid as hostile, and that it will fight to remain an independent company. Still, the market’s view of the possible takeover seems positive: Ubisoft shares rose 4.01 percent to 32.93 euros today, and have rocketed upward 95 percent since EA’s buy in December. The Reuters story reports that many analysts estimate a takeover share price of about 40 euros for Ubisoft. The company has an overall market value of about 559 million euros. We’ll keep you posted as the situation unfolds.Source: http://www.ign.com
