Ubisoft appoints advisors to explore strategic options after report on potential buyout
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Ubisoft said in a strategic update on Thursday that “leading advisors” had been hired to explore “transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.”
“This process will be overseen by the independent members of the Board of Directors. Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materializes,” the company said in a statement.
Potential buyout
In October, Bloomberg News reported that the Guillemot family, who founded Ubisoft nearly four decades ago, and Chinese tech giant Tencent were considering a takeover of the firm.
The Bloomberg report followed a decision by Ubisoft to delay the release of the latest title in its popular “Assassins Creed” video game series, “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” by three months, to February 2025.
Multiple delays
On Thursday, Ubisoft postponed the launch of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” again, pushing it back to March 20.
Shares of Ubisoft have declined 45% in the past 12 months amid woes surrounding its pipeline of launches, as well as doubts over the company’s strategic direction.
Last year, activist investor AJ Investments called on Ubisoft to sell itself to private equity or Tencent. At the time, the investment firm said it had gained the support of 10% of Ubisoft’s shareholder base for its campaign.
U.S. designates Tencent a Chinese military company
Tencent was added to a list of “Chinese military companies” by the U.S. Department of Defense, causing its Hong Kong-listed shares to tumble nearly 8% on Monday.
Other Chinese companies added to the list included battery maker CATL, which is part of the supply chain for automakers such as Ford and Tesla.
‘Clearly a mistake’: Tencent
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 says that the DoD will be prohibited from directly procuring goods or services from entities on the list in June 2026, and indirectly from June 2027.
In response to the decision, Tencent said in a statement that its inclusion on the list was “clearly a mistake.”
“We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business,” the company added. CATL also called the designation “a mistake” in a response, saying it “is not engaged in any military related activities.”
CATL sales might be affected
Vincent Su, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said that CATL being included in the list “may discourage U.S. customers from purchasing the company’s energy storage system, or ESS, batteries in the future.”
The U.S. has been taking steps to restrict transfer of high-end technologies to China. Last year, it revoked certain licenses to sell chips to China’s Huawei in May, and announced new sweeping export controls on critical technologies in September.
Volkswagen and Xpeng to build super-fast charging network in China for EVs
Volkswagen and Xpeng on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding in which they pledged to open their respective super-fast charging networks to each other’s customers.
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The collaboration will see more than 20,000 charging points operated by both firms in 420 cities across China.
Volkswagen and Xpeng will also explore cooperation on co-branded super-fast charging stations, the companies said.
Battle over charging points
Charging points are becoming a key battleground in the electric vehicle space. They allow people to recharge their battery-powered cars if needed, thus extending the distance they can drive.
Tesla has also been expanding its Supercharger network in China.
Increased focus on China
Volkswagen has ramped up its focus on China. In 2023, it invested around $700 million in Xpeng, taking a 4.99% stake in the firm. The German automaker is aiming to offer at least 30 fully electric models across its brands in China by 2030.
Xpeng and Volkswagen are also looking to jointly develop two electric cars for delivery in China in 2026.
dLocal, Latin America’s answer to Stripe, wins UK license in global expansion push
Uruguayan payments firm dLocal told CNBC it had acquired an authorized payment institution license from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, which is Britain’s financial services regulator. That would allow it to start onboarding new U.K. merchants.
Differentiating factor
DLocal will onboard U.K. merchants through a local entity, dLocal Opco UK, which was previously unable to onboard new clients locally because of restrictions placed on it by the FCA. DLocal said the restrictions were the result of the U.K.’s exit from the EU.
Pedro Arnt, dLocal’s CEO, told CNBC he expects the business to stand out from domestic payment tech rivals, such as Worldpay and Checkout.com, given its focus on emerging markets in places like Latin America, Africa and Asia.
One of Latin America’s biggest players
Established in 2016, dLocal is one of Latin America’s most prominent payment players. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country Uruguay.
Arnt said a major benefit the U.K. payment license will bring dLocal is recognition as a “licensed partner” that companies in the developed world can trust to handle payments in emerging markets with complex regulatory needs. DLocal now holds over 30 licenses and registrations worldwide.
Top tech predictions for 2025
In the final episode of 2024, CNBC's Tom Chitty and Arjun Kharpal are joined by a whole host of special guests to reflect back on the year, and to look ahead to an exciting 2025 for technology.