Pachter: Ubisoft purchased Tom Clancy name for US$ 94 million

Ubisoft recently acquired full rights to the Tom Clancy name on a perpetual basis, relieving them of all future obligations to pay royalties for the franchise. But how much did they have to pay so that they don’t, um, pay? Analyst Michael Pachter estimates it to be around US$ 94 million. Ouch. More details in the full article.

Last month, Ubisoft was feeling a bit shaken up when Electronic Arts announced their intentions of taking over Take-Two Interactive. This led the company to look for a way to expand its borders. And boy, did it expand.

A week ago, Ubisoft acquired full intellectual property rights to the Tom Clancy name on a perpetual basis. Quite a purchase, as the Tom Clancy franchise is one of their strongest. They even aim to capitalize further with a Tom Clancy MMO.

The purchase essentially relieved them of all obligations on paying royalties in the future. But how much did they have pay so that they don’t, um, pay? Analyst Michael Pachter estimates it to be around US$ 94 million.

Ubisoft was silent on the actual figure, although officials did state that only an initial payment of US$ 30 million was being made in the current fiscal year. Whatever the actual amount, Ubisoft doesn’t seem to be in dire straits.

They declared that by removing the need to pay royalties, they’ll be able to generate an income of US$ 7.7 million a year. Who knows? They may generate even more with an MMO.

Via Gamasutra