Ubisoft establishes new subsidiary with €1.16 billion investment from Tencent

Ubisoft has announced the establishment of a dedicated subsidiary based on its Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands, spearheaded by an investment of €1.16 billion from Chinese conglomerate Tencent, who will retain a 25 percent minority stake in the subsidiary.

The new subsidiary will focus on “building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multiplatform,” and drive further increaess in quality of narrative solo experience, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content releases, introduce free-to-play touchpoints, and integrate more social features.

The agreement with Tencent follows Ubisoft exploring and assessing different strategic options as announced earlier in 2025. After careful consideration of several expressions of interested from various parties, Ubisoft determined this transaction to be the bst value for its assets and approved the proposition today.

In parallel to the creation of this new subsidiary, Ubisoft will focus on “nurturing the devleopment of iconic franchises” such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and The Division, accelerating the growth of top performing titles and leveraging disruptive technologies on selected new intellectual properties, while continuing to deliver “state-of-the-art production” game engines and online services.

“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” said Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot in a press release. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious. We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.

“With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets, strengthening our balance sheet, and creating the best conditions for these franchises’ long-term growth and success. With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.”

Guillemot concluded, “We are committed to building a sharper, more focused organization-one where talented teams will take our brands to the next level, accelerate the growth of emerging franchises, and lead innovation in next-generation technologies and services, all with the goal of delivering enriching, memorable games that exceed players’ expectations, and create superior value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”

Tencent president Martin Lau added, “We are excited to extend our longstanding partnership with Ubisoft through this investment, which reflects our continued confidence in Ubisoft’s creative vision and exceptional talent to drive sustained success in the industry. We see the immense potential for these franchises to evolve into long-term evergreen game platforms and create engaging new experiences for gamers.”

Here is the full breakdown of the new subsidiary and deal with Tencent:

Relationship between the new subsidiary and Ubisoft Entertainment

• The new subsidiary would include the teams developing the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, and Far Cry franchises based in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia as well as the back-catalog and any new games currently under development or to be developed.
• The new subsidiary would be granted by Ubisoft a worldwide, exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual license in respect of the intellectual property and similar proprietary rights owned or licensable by Ubisoft in relation to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, and Far Cry in exchange for a royalty.

Main terms of the binding agreement with Tencent

• Tencent would invest in the new subsidiary which is headquartered in France and 100% owned by Ubisoft immediately prior to the transaction. Specifically, at closing of the transaction, Tencent would invest a total amount of EUR1.16bn for an approximate 25% economic interest in the New subsidiary, that will be used to strengthen Ubisoft’s balance sheet by significantly reducing its consolidated net debt position, accelerate the Group’s transformation, and sustain growth of selected franchises. After closing of the transaction, the new subsidiary would remain exclusively controlled and consolidated by Ubisoft.
• Conditions precedent to the transaction:
  • Issuance of a fairness opinion from Finexsi acting as independent expert.
  • Completion of the carve-out to create the new subsidiary.
  • Obtention of the necessary regulatory clearances
  • Ubisoft can unilaterally waive the issuance of the fairness opinion as a condition precedent.
• Completion of the transaction is expected before the end of 2025.
• The new subsidiary would have a dedicated leadership team, supervised by a Board of Directors, focused on enhancing creative vision and streamlining operations, with the authority to make swift, high-impact decisions across development, marketing, and distribution, to ensure these brands continue to evolve, attract new audiences, and deliver groundbreaking gaming experiences for years to come.
• Tencent would benefit from customary minority protection rights as well as certain consent rights on the disposals of the important new subsidiary assets.
• Other provisions in relation to Tencent’s shareholding in the New subsidiary notably include:
• A 5-year lock-up undertaking on New subsidiary shares held by Tencent, unless Ubisoft no longer owns a majority of New subsidiary voting rights and share capital.
• Ubisoft may not cease to hold a majority of New subsidiary voting rights and share capital for a 2-year period.
• Customary share transfer provisions, including, a right of first refusal to the benefit of Ubisoft, a right of first offer to the benefit of Tencent, tag-along right to the benefit of Tencent, and drag-along right to the benefit of Ubisoft (subject to certain conditions).
• Call option to the benefit of Ubisoft and put option to the benefit of Tencent in the event of certain change of control of Ubisoft approved by its Board of Directors—Exercise price will be the higher of (i) the fair market value of New subsidiary shares and (ii) the same EBIT multiple as that in the change of control transaction of Ubisoft; it being specified that for the call option there will be a specific minimum price protection during the first four years following closing of the transaction with Tencent.