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In brief: As investors search for ways to stabilize Ubisoft following years of poor financial performance, buyout talks with major shareholder Tencent are progressing. Although multiple options are on the table, the founding Guillemot family struggles to retain control of the company. Anonymous sources have told Reuters that multiple investors, including Tencent, are discussing options for funding a buyout of Ubisoft. The Guillemot family wishes to retain control over the company, but Tencent wants more decision-making power. People familiar with the matter say the Chinese media giant wants further control over Ubisoft's financing if it backs the deal. However, the Guillemot brothers, who founded the company and retain the controlling share – 20.5 percent – haven't agreed to the terms. Tencent is patiently waiting for the family to come around. Click to enlarge Although the company wants to avoid a hostile takeover of Ubisoft, it still hasn't decided whether to increase its 9.2 percent stake in the game publisher or its 49.9 percent ownership of Guillemot Brothers Ltd – the Guillemots' holding company. Ubisoft's stock closed 13 percent up following news of continuing buyout discussions. Prior reports of negotiations caused a record-breaking one-day spike of over 30 percent. Although Ubisoft attempted to downplay excitement by saying it examines buyout proposals regularly, the developments could be sorely needed given the publishers' recent steep decline. Unfortunately, the years following the pandemic have wiped out a decade of Ubisoft's stock gains. The company has struggled to develop and ship ever-larger games, and its recent releases haven't met market expectations. After announcing plans to shut down the free-to-play online shooter XDefiant next year, Ubisoft closed its San Francisco and Osaka studios and laid off almost 300 employees. The game's failure adds to the publisher's troublesome year after Star Wars Outlaws suffered a lukewarm reception and Assassin's Creed Shadows got pushed into next year. Additionally, Ubisoft stoked controversy and attracted a lawsuit after shutting down servers for The Crew and pulling the game from users' libraries. Charging $70 on top of microtransactions for Skull and Bones, which spent around seven years in development, also drew ire. Despite the setbacks, Ubisoft remains committed to releasing more live-service games. A buyout isn't the only solution the Guillemots are discussing to stabilize the company. Shareholders, including AJ Investments, have proposed privatization or acquisition by a strategic investor.234win legit 。

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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars’ worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Related Articles National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television National Politics | What will happen to Social Security under Trump’s tax plan? National Politics | Republican-led states are rolling out plans that could aid Trump’s mass deportation effort The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC’s antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC’s efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump’s orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan’s scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.

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