EA sells 15% of Ubisoft

Bloomberg is reporting that American publishing giant EA has sold its 15 per cent stake in rival company Ubisoft, ending a sometimes uncomfortable business partnership that has lasted almost five years.

The deal should make EA, who was until this point Ubisoft’s largest shareholder, in the region of $122m. As a result of the move Ubisoft’s share price fell 1.3 per cent.

Kepler Capital Markets analyst Conor O’Shea speculated that the move could “open the door for somebody else to potentially look at Ubisoft”, though added that would largely be dependent on the current plans of the founding Guillemot brothers, who hold a 7.2 per cent stake in the publisher.

Yves Guillemot currently serves as Ubisoft’s CEO.