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http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/811/811466p1.html
EA Tightens Hold on Ubisoft
The company now holds 25 percent voting stake in the French game maker.
by Ryan Geddes
showUSloc=(checkLocale('uk')||checkLocale('au'));document.writeln(showUSloc ? 'US, ' : ''); August 8, 2007 - Electronic Arts has raised its holding of voting shares in Ubisoft to nearly 25 percent, according to reports from French stock market regulator AMF.
First reported on Forbes.com Wednesday morning, the increase gives EA 24.86 percent of Ubisoft's voting shares.
In December 2004, EA bought a 20-percent block of the French game maker, a move considered hostile by Ubisoft at the time. The purchase gave EA 18.4 percent of the voting rights against 22.8 percent held by Ubisoft's founders.
Calls and emails to EA and Ubisoft requesting comment about the development were not returned Wednesday, and it was unclear if Ubisoft's founders or other shareholders saw a similar increase in voting shares.
Update: Colin Sebastian, a research analyst at Lazard Capital Markets who tracks the videogame industry, said it is unclear what immediate impact - if any - the change may have at Ubisoft.
"They own the same number of shares - it's just that the shares they own have more substantial voting rights," Sebastian said. "I still don't think that's enough to bring about a change of control."
In the past, Sebastian said, Ubisoft officials have publicly said they have a number of options for the future of the company - including joining forces with a large media company, partnering with a publisher like EA or remaining independent.
A provision in Ubisoft's corporate charter grants increased voting rights to shareholders who register their stock with the company and hold it for more then two years. The provision, common among French companies, is meant to encourage long-term stock ownership.
According to the Forbes article and a report in the French newspaper La Tribune on Wednesday, EA said it reserves the right to raise its stake in Ubisoft over the next year and has no plans to seek to nominate board members, but could do so if the are any major changes in Ubisoft's situation or the market as a whole.
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