CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 336: UBISOFT’S FALLING STOCK PRICE

"Do you know the French game company Ubisoft?" Wu Changxun asked.

"Of course I know." Chen Yiyang immediately nodded.

Ubisoft is also known as the Potato Factory or the Can Factory.

The former is because their online services are terrible domestically and often can’t be accessed.

The latter is because the games produced by their company in recent years are increasingly similar, giving a canned feeling.

Additionally, there’s a joke that says: Why is EA considered the worst game company in America? Because Ubisoft is in France.

Of course, once Ubisoft was quite brilliant, with games that were not only full of innovation but also created numerous super classic IPs like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Ghost Recon, Anno, and more.

However, entertainment products require creativity and a constant influx of talent.

As Ubisoft grew into a large game company, to keep the company alive, they started releasing annual products.

Meaning they released a new game for many classic IPs every year.

In this situation, the game designs inch towards conservatism, making it difficult for players to feel refreshed.

Moreover, after the company expanded, the production costs of games became very high, thus the game prices rose as well.

As a result, Ubisoft’s reputation among players worsened.

A few years ago, when Ubisoft was almost maliciously acquired by another company, players generally supported Ubisoft.

But now, players hope Ubisoft would just hurry up and perish.

And the relationship between Tengxu and Ubisoft is that of a knight and a princess.

Ubisoft is the princess, while Tengxu, with a terrible domestic reputation, is the white knight.

Because back then, when Ubisoft faced malicious acquisition, it lacked the funds to resist.

And Tengxu directly helped with money without seeking control over Ubisoft.

This made the relationship between Ubisoft and Tengxu very good, with Tengxu basically monopolizing Ubisoft’s game distribution and IP adaptation rights in Huaxia.

"Ubisoft hasn’t been doing well in business these years." Wu Changxun suddenly came up with such a statement.

"Of course, wouldn’t Tengxu know if Ubisoft is doing well or not?"

Chen Yiyang immediately said, "I remember a few years ago Tengxu increased its stake in Ubisoft, directly becoming Ubisoft’s second-largest shareholder when Ubisoft’s valuation was still eighty euros.

Because Ubisoft is a family business, Tengxu, to avoid worrying the Ubisoft family, signed an agreement not to interfere with Ubisoft’s internal operations, not to sell for five years, and not to increase holdings for eight years."

"Stop talking, stop talking." Wu Changxun hurriedly interrupted Chen Yiyang.

This investment has now made Tengxu regret it beyond measure.

Because just two years after Tengxu invested in Ubisoft, the money invested now is enough to buy the whole of Ubisoft.

Moreover, up until now, Ubisoft’s stock price continues to fall.

Tengxu’s investment was indeed a tragic loss.

And Ubisoft took this money from Tengxu and comfortably muddled through for several more years.

"Ubisoft has 17,000 global employees, while in comparison, Activision Blizzard has 10,000, EA has 11,000.

In the past few years, even when Activision Blizzard and EA were doing poorly, they earned more than Ubisoft, Ubisoft doesn’t cut excess employees, and the stock price will continue to fall."

"Anyone with clear eyes can see, but solving the problem precisely is the big issue."

Wu Changxun said, "Ubisoft knows that reducing employees can save expenses, but Ubisoft isn’t just a small company, it is the face of the French game scene, and internally there are many organizations and associations.

Knowing there is a need to lay off is easy, but knowing which people to lay off isn’t easy at all. A careless mistake might lead to firing the essential workers, making it truly irrecoverable by then."

"Alright then." Chen Yiyang nodded.

"But after talking so much, why are you bringing up Ubisoft with me?" Chen Yiyang asked.

"For Tengxu, recouping the investment in Ubisoft is now very difficult.

But Ubisoft still holds some valuable classic IPs, like Assassin’s Creed and such.

Tengxu and Ubisoft have discussed, and we’re planning to place these Ubisoft classic IPs separately into a joint company owned by Tengxu and Ubisoft, sharing the copyrights of these classic IPs."

"Well, that’s indeed a good idea."

Chen Yiyang nodded.

Ubisoft itself is clearly rotten.

Moreover, due to various networks, interest-related institutions, and associations, it couldn’t undergo reform, only waiting for a chronic death.

But if Ubisoft truly goes bankrupt someday, those classic IPs held by Ubisoft might be taken by creditors.

But if these classic IPs are separated beforehand and placed into a single company.

Even if Ubisoft eventually goes bankrupt someday, Tengxu won’t need to worry about these IPs being taken by creditors. Because Tengxu also owns half of these IP copyrights.

"Given the good relationship between Tengxu and Ubisoft, Ubisoft also accepted this suggestion from Tengxu.

But we encountered some minor difficulties during the actual operations. People within the French Government came out to obstruct, saying this would result in the loss of classic French IPs to foreigners."

The actions of a large company often cannot be autonomously decided and require considering the government’s ideas.

For example, a certain short video platform initially intended to sell, but with the government’s interference, the control of this platform ultimately didn’t fall into foreign hands.

Some officials within France think this way too.

Ubisoft can rot, but those classic IPs must stay in France.

"This time in France, you helped Lin’an Caviar solve a big problem. It seems you have some unique connections in France.

So I just wanted to ask you if you could use your connections in France to help make this deal succeed?"

After Wu Changxun finished speaking, Chen Yiyang immediately thought of Schaefer, who asked him to help improve the AI model Lucy.

If this matter could be used to negotiate with the French to have Ubisoft place classic IPs separately into a joint company with Tengxu.

It’s not impossible to imagine.

So Chen Yiyang directly asked Wu Changxun, "If I can help Tengxu solve this matter, what can Tengxu give me?"

"A batch of film investment rights, or guaranteed first-round broadcasting purchase of your own investment films by the Tengxu platform."

"Not quite feasible." Chen Yiyang shook his head and said, "There are a few influential people in France who owe me a favor. They originally planned to repay with a battery recycling plant or a long-standing luxury fashion brand.

If I use this favor for Tengxu, the returns from Tengxu clearly don’t match the value of the favor."

Wu Changxun was absolutely surprised.

What Tengxu found incredibly troublesome actually seemed solvable by Chen Yiyang.

Initially, Wu Changxun approached Chen Yiyang about this matter just to try his luck.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yiyang actually had the connections to help.