Activision Blizzard has entered into an agreement with parent company Vivendi. The publisher buys for more than $ 8 billion to the French company. It is almost 6 billion funded by Activision Blizzard itself and more than 2 billion by a group of investors.
For 5,83 billion dollars will get Activision Blizzard a majority of the shares in the hands. Thus, the publisher again stand on its own. A group of investors take for to 2.34 billion dollars in a quarter of the shares. Director of Bobby Kotick and chairman of the board of directors Brian Kelly are part of that group, together with the Chinese telco Tencent. Vivendi is not completely bought out. The French company holds 12 percent of the total number of shares.
Vivendi have been trying for over a year for Activision Blizzard to sell. The share price of the French company is already for some time under pressure, mainly due to the income decline of the various telco’s that it owns. Vivendi bought in december 2007 acquired a majority stake in Activision and added it together with developer Blizzard, that it is already in his possession.
A stand-alone Activision Blizzard is under Kotick better off. Since the merge, the publisher has with series like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft 5.4 billion dollar earned, which according to Kotick 4 billion benefit to shareholders.
