NEWS - Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Ubisoft Defends Against EA
Ubisoft Calls for Defense Against EA At this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot urged stockholders to resist a hostile takeover by titanic rival Electronic Arts, according to the BBC News. Guillemot’s comments are the latest reaction to EA’s 20% Ubisoft grab last December. The French publisher described the action as "hostile" early on, and since pledged to resist a buyout, even asking the French government for assistance. Hoping to convince investors to hold their ground, Guillemot says Ubisoft’s value should double in the next two years as the company aggressively invests in its strongest brands, such as Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Prince of Persia. "We prefer by far to remain independent as we will be able to double our value in the next two years as we will double our effort," the BBC News article quotes Guillemot. "We are in a business of creation," he added, "we need to keep the creativity and that is the value of the company." Of course, an stronger offering from Ubisoft could make the company even more tantalizing to EA. We’ll be back with more as the situation develops.Source: http://www.ign.com
