Guillemot Family Still in Control at Ubisoft after CGM

Ubisoft's Combined General Meeting of Shareholders was help in Bagnolet on the 29th of September, amid an ongoing takeover bid from French media firm Vivendi. The Guillemots have been very vocal in their criticism of Vivendi's takeover tactics and how vowed that his studio will remain independent.

Ahead of the meeting, the Guillemots increased their shareholding in the company by an additional 3.2%, purchasing more shares from venture capital firm Bpifrance. It was clear though, that Vivendi would try to court shareholders in order get some of their own elected to the board.

Unfortunately for Vivendi, that plan did not come to fruition. Instead, the board of directors re-elected Yves and Gérard Guillemot as directors, as well as appointing two more independent directors to the board: Frédérique Dame and Florence Naviner.

In their written statement after the meeting, Ubisoft expressed more disdain for Vivendi, proving that whilst they own a large stake in the company, they're certainly not proving popular just yet.

"Within the extraordinary portion of the General Meeting, some resolutions were rejected due to Vivendi’s systematic obstruction, impeding the proper functioning of the Company, in particular regarding its competitive compensation policy for its talents."

The failure to have any directors elected will no doubt be a major blow for Vivendi, however it's unlikely that with so much investment now made into the acquisition of the publisher, that they will end their advances. A hostile takeover attempt is now looking likely, meaning that this is a saga which could run on for a lot longer.