Computer-game maker Ubisoft to buy Quebec's Hybride Technologies

French software company Ubisoft, best known for its computer games, is acquiring Hybride Technologies — an 80-employee Quebec company that develops tools for creating special-effects in movies, television and advertising.

Hybride's projects include such films as Frank Miller's Sin City and 300 and the Spy Kids series.

Ubisoft hasn't announced how much it will pay for the Quebec-based company but said it is expected to initially generate the equivalent of about $10 million to $11 million in sales.

Ubisoft already has a presence in 27 countries, including Canada. It employs more than 1,000 people in Quebec.

The company's game titles include Assassin's Creed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and several best-selling games based on Tom Clancy's spy thriller novels.

Hybride will continue to work with its film partners but will extend its expertise to Ubisoft.

"The future of our industry depends on our ability to create brands that captivate audiences and to extend those brands to other forms of entertainment," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.

"The acquisition of Hybride falls directly into the strategy that has already led us to open a digital creation studio in Montreal and to acquire the Tom Clancy brand for video games and ancillary products."

He added that the co-operation of the teams at Hybride and Ubisoft will enable the company to create "one of the best 3-D animation studios in the entertainment industry."

For the 2007-08 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated sales of about $1.5 billion Cdn.