Ubisoft aquires the German publisher Sunflowers

[Bastieeeh]

Paris – 11 April 2007 - Today, Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announces that it has concluded an agreement to acquire SunFlowers, owner of the Anno brand, one of the most successful strategy games with 5 million units sold worldwide and one of the best-selling games in the German market.
Through the transaction, Ubisoft will acquire a 30% stake in Related Designs, which developed Anno 1701, the latest entry in the Anno series and is currently working on a future Anno title.
The agreement between the two companies is subject to normal closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close in Ubisoft’s fiscal year 2007-08 first quarter.
"With the acquisition of Anno, Ubisoft reinforces its position in the real-time strategy market. Anno, along with Ubisoft’s The Settlers, is one of the most well known franchises in Germany, reaching a wide audience that includes not only traditional gamers, but also women and families. We are proud to add another top-quality brand to our rich portfolio and we are looking forward to bringing the brand to an even wider audience." stated Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft.
Mr Adi Boiko, cofounder of SunFlowers stated "I’m glad to confide Anno to Ubisoft, a company known for the innovation and creativity of its development teams. The brand will benefit from Ubisoft’s global strength, allowing new audiences to discover the pleasure of empire building through new Anno games."

Source: Ubisoft

[Dark Ride]

Now they'll have even more money to develop the next Anno game and that means (hopefully) an even better Anno game. The last Anno was really awesome; best one so far and one of my fav. PC franchises. But I felt like it wasn't quite optimized because my PC exceeds the recommended reqs easily it still plays a bit choppy.

However, can't wait for the next Anno ! Thanks for the news Bastieeeh.

Oh and btw, if you US-guys are wondering what game I'm talking about. It's 1701 A.D. as that's how it's called over there.

[Zalmann]

I can see heaps of layoff's with this news. There will be many unhappy programmers.

[Dark Ride]

Originally Posted by Zalmann

I can see heaps of layoff's with this news. There will be many unhappy programmers.

I hope not. Why do you think so ?

[Zalmann]

After a merger, there's normally a lot of cost cutting that follows directly afterwards. Basically, they will get rid of staff and resources that have the same skills or perform the same tasks or function that they already have. It's quite normal in mergers and acquisitions in the corporate world, the key idea is to maximise returns for the shareholders.

[WarEagleAU]

I have never heard of Anno. What is it?