The sum raised was considerable - EUR494.5 million - and the cost of borrowing exceptionally lenient, at just 2.875%. As for the conversion option, it applies at a price of EUR40, a substantial premium to the current market price.

On paper, this refinancing - which covers almost a third of the video game publisher's debt - looks rather fortunate. How, then, can we explain the market's reaction, if not by a clear signal of distrust towards the Guillemot family, which has long been contested but which thus ensures the continuity of its control?

We remember that a year ago, Tencent came to the family's support, again on exceptionally gracious terms - a loan with very flexible conditions, no representation on the board of directors, etc. - in exchange for the possibility of carrying its own brand. - in exchange for the possibility of increasing its stake in Ubisoft to 10%.

Taken together, these events put off the prospect of a takeover of the publisher. This is no doubt deplored by the market, which clearly sees that Ubisoft does not have sufficient scale to ensure its viability. Perhaps analysts were also valuing the group beyond its real prospects; the EUR40 threshold may therefore have dampened some hopes.

Like its games, Ubisoft's book profits are virtual. In reality, investment in the development of new titles consumes more than operating cash flow, hence the relentless increase in debt over the last decade.

Freed from its five-year share buyback clause, Vivendi could be back in the running. In this respect, and in the light of the share's recent price evolution, we salute the brilliant come-and-go of Vincent Bolloré - a decided master of stock market "coups" - five years ago.