AlbertPacino
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At the recent E3 games expo in Los Angeles, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot urged shareholders to hold on to their stocks, saying the value of the company would double in the next two years.
"We are working hard to remain independent," Mr Guillemot told the BBC News website.
Gallic pride
Ubisoft has a portfolio of more than 1,000 games titles and 2,300 developers in studios in Canada, China, France and the US.
It has enjoyed success with games such as Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon and Prince of Persia.
EA, the world's largest games company, showed an interest in Ubisoft in December when it bought 20% of the firm.
The move by the American giant provoked strong feelings, with the French press seeing it as an assault on the Gallic gaming industry.
For Mr Guillemot, who started Ubisoft with his four brothers in the mid-1980s, this was unwelcomed attention.
"We know those guys are around," he said, referring to the EA interest.
Big games
Ubisoft's response has been to build up in-house gaming talent and develop a range of big name brands.
At the E3 show, Ubisoft showed off its latest weapons in the fight for independence.
Among the big name titles on display were the game of Peter Jackson's King Kong, a console version of the PC hit game Far Cry, a new Prince of Persia, and a version of Ghost Recon 3 for the Xbox 360.
"We prefer by far to remain independent as we will be able to double our value in the next two years as we will double our effort," said Mr Guillemot.
"The profits of the company will grow fast because the products are selling well and generating lots of revenue."
"If our shareholders are happy with what we do they will not sell their shares, they will keep them as it is a great investment for them," he said.
Ubisoft's sales have risen fast over the past five years, hitting 537m euros (£389m) in the 2004-2005 financial year.
Eight of its games, such as Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia, sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.
"We are in a business of creation," said Mr Guillemot, "we need to keep the creativity and that is the value of the company."
Source
At the recent E3 games expo in Los Angeles, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot urged shareholders to hold on to their stocks, saying the value of the company would double in the next two years.
"We are working hard to remain independent," Mr Guillemot told the BBC News website.
Gallic pride
Ubisoft has a portfolio of more than 1,000 games titles and 2,300 developers in studios in Canada, China, France and the US.
It has enjoyed success with games such as Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon and Prince of Persia.
EA, the world's largest games company, showed an interest in Ubisoft in December when it bought 20% of the firm.
The move by the American giant provoked strong feelings, with the French press seeing it as an assault on the Gallic gaming industry.
For Mr Guillemot, who started Ubisoft with his four brothers in the mid-1980s, this was unwelcomed attention.
"We know those guys are around," he said, referring to the EA interest.
Big games
Ubisoft's response has been to build up in-house gaming talent and develop a range of big name brands.
At the E3 show, Ubisoft showed off its latest weapons in the fight for independence.
Among the big name titles on display were the game of Peter Jackson's King Kong, a console version of the PC hit game Far Cry, a new Prince of Persia, and a version of Ghost Recon 3 for the Xbox 360.
"We prefer by far to remain independent as we will be able to double our value in the next two years as we will double our effort," said Mr Guillemot.
"The profits of the company will grow fast because the products are selling well and generating lots of revenue."
"If our shareholders are happy with what we do they will not sell their shares, they will keep them as it is a great investment for them," he said.
Ubisoft's sales have risen fast over the past five years, hitting 537m euros (£389m) in the 2004-2005 financial year.
Eight of its games, such as Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia, sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.
"We are in a business of creation," said Mr Guillemot, "we need to keep the creativity and that is the value of the company."
Source
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