EA sure does like to spend a lot of money.
Electronic Arts has formalized the purchase of almost three and a half million shares worth of stock from Ubisoft, the entertainment giant announced today. Following on the heels of the initial announcement, EA now holds a whopping 3,497,049 shares of Ubisoft, each of which costs 19.69 Euros.
According to some reports, Ubisoft was apparently trying to fend off such an acquisition, but in the end it was inevitable. This move however does not give EA any say over how the company is managed. They only have access to 18.4% of the voting rights of the company compared to the 22.8% owned by the founders of Ubisoft, the Guillemot family. At almost $88 million, it is easily one of Electronic Arts' biggest acquisitions.