Citing unnamed sources, MCV is reporting that Ubisoft is currently in talks to acquire THQ‘s assets and is considered to be “one of the front-runners” in the upcoming bidding war.
After years of financial losses — which ultimately resulted in massive restructuring and canceled projects over the last year — THQ filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week and announced that they will sell their assets to Clearlake Capital Group in a “stalking horse bidder” deal. The motivation behind the chapter 11 filing and the deal with Clearlake is to basically allow an interested third-party to be able to acquire the publisher’s assets without taking on their massive debt.
The unconfirmed report suggests that Ubisoft is in talks with THQ/Clearlake and would like to strike a deal, however, the French publisher is said to be after a “bargain buy”. The sources are saying that Ubisoft feels very little pressure to make the deal happen, and they are “prepared to hold-out” until specific assets come up on the auction block if they can’t acquire the entire company for a low price.
While this report is unconfirmed Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently expressed interest in acquiring some of THQ‘s IPs, saying:
“What happened to [THQ] is something that happens regularly when we have transition. Some can make it, some decide to go in different direction. It happened with Atari and Midway and also Acclaim last generation. … It’s something that happens in this industry and that’s the way the industry consolidates.”
“They have good things. We are always interested in good brands. For sure, it’s something we can consider, but I can’t tell you more.”
If Ubisoft were successful in a bid for the whole of THQ it would give them all five of the company’s studios and all of their IPs, including; Saints Row, Homefront, Company of Heroes, Darksiders, and Red Faction. It would also let them develop games based on the WWE and Warhammer brands.
Consider any Ubisoft acquisition of THQ as a rumor for now and we will let you know when and if anything is officially announced.