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Ubisoft Sells All Gameloft Shares
by Brandon Boyer
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July 17, 2007
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Publisher Ubisoft has announced that it has sold its remaining 13 million odd shares in offshoot studio Gameloft in a deal worth some $190 million, though the publisher says the two will continue to collaborate with Ubisoft brands in the mobile sector.
Ubisoft sold its 13,367,923 shares, which represented 18.89 percent of Gameloft's capital, to corporate and investment bank Calyon, at a price of €6.08 ($8.38) per share.
Under the terms of an equity swap agreement entered into by Calyon and Ubisoft, any and all changes in Gameloft's share price seen in the following 24 months which Calyon has to sell the shares will be recorded as cash inflows on Ubisoft's income statement.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has said the two companies will continue to collaborate on a "purely operational level, particularly concerning the utilization of Ubisoft's brands on mobile phones."
He said of the deal, "The video game market offers numerous internal and external growth opportunities. We have therefore decided to sell our stake in Gameloft in order to focus on Ubisoft's expansion and strengthen our ability to seize all such growth opportunities."
Though Gameloft primarily deals in mobile versions of popular Ubisoft franchises, the company also recently developed the remake of the classic Prince of Persia for Xbox Live Arcade.
Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez said, "We opted for an equity swap solution as we are confident in Gameloft's capacity for growth. Selecting this approach enables us to inform the market of our exit strategy and to stagger the market placement of the Gameloft shares in order to continue to benefit from the company's development potential over the next two years."
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