Ubisoft could also bid to acquire one or more of Infogrames' games development studios, Mr Bonnell said.

Mr Bonnell, who founded Infogrames 23 years ago, acknowledged that he had held talks with Elevation Partners, the US private equity group whose partners include rock star Bono. But Mr Bonnell said Elevation's proposals were "not compatible with our vision".

Infogrames, which owns a controlling 51 per cent stake in troubled US games maker Atari, was also considering ending Atari's Nasdaq quotation, he said.

"One of the options would be to re-focus the activities of each company on its core business," said Mr Bonnell. "Atari could become the development studio for the American market whilst Infogrames would be the international publisher."