French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has taken stakes in “two French companies with internationally-recognised know-how in video games” – Ubisoft and Gameloft.

The company has paid €140.3 million for a 6.6 per cent stake in Ubisoft, and €19.7 million for a 6.2 per cent stake in Gameloft.

While Vivendi made no statement about its next move, mobile gaming specialist Gameloft described it as an “unsolicited action”.

“We reiterate our intention to remain independent, an approach that, since our founding 16 years ago, enabled us to become a world leader in mobile gaming, and from 2015, a significant and fast growing actor of mobile advertising,” it said in a statement.

And Ubisoft’s response was similarly-worded: “We reiterate our intention to remain independent, an approach that, since the company’s founding 30 years ago, enabled it to become the third largest video game developer in the world.”

This does not mark Vivendi’s first foray into the gaming world: the company was previously the majority shareholder of Activision Blizzard, but has reduced its holding to around 6 per cent.

It has not updated on its strategy for the sector, now that it holds small stakes in three different players.