Ubisoft Canada boss says THQ Montreal staff are 'pretty happy ... that everything went well' with the acquisition

THQ Montreal staff seem to be happy with Ubisoft's acquisition of the studio, according to the chief executive of Ubisoft Montreal and head of Ubisoft Canada, Yannis Mallat.

Speaking in an interview with The Financial Post, Mallat said that he had visited THQ Montreal after the acquisition was made and received a warm welcome from staff.

"This is the very first time in my life that I have come to a studio that was just newly acquired, given a speech to everyone, and then have everyone applaud," he said. "It was a very sincere reaction. Maybe it was due to the fact that we at Ubisoft are a very humane company and we were talking to the people in a very fair way and are very approachable.

"Today I asked people from the HR department at Ubisoft to come over and spend some time with the guys here so they can ask any questions they may have. It's fair to say that the people here are pretty happy and that everything went well and hands were shaken and it's just great."

Mallat spoke of Ubisoft's plans for growth and his excitement at the acquisition of THQ Montreal's talent. He indicated that Ubisoft intends on expanding and that THQ Montreal was a strategic business purchase for the company, but said it was too early to discuss what projects the studio will work on, the fate of existing projects and whether there are any planned staff cuts.

The Financial Post's full Q&A can be read here.