Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan buying $400M stake in video game giant Ubisoft

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is spending about $400 million to take a 3.4 per cent stake in French video game giant Ubisoft as part of a complex deal that will allow French conglomerate Vivendi to sell all of its Ubisoft shares.

Vivendi, which was said to be considering a takeover when it accumulated its Ubisoft stake over the past few years, has agreed to sell its 30.5 million shares and not buy any more for at least five years.

Ontario Teachers’ has agreed to acquire 3.8 million shares in the company, which produces games including Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, while Chinese internet giant Tencent is to buy 5.6 million shares.

The rest are to be bought by Ubisoft and cancelled, or sold to existing shareholders and, through an offering, to institutional investors.

Ubisoft says it has a strategic partnership with Tencent that will “significantly accelerate” the reach of Ubisoft franchises in China in the coming years.