14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Activision Blizzard announces that it is separating from its corporate owner Vivendi in a deal that’s worth 8.2 billion dollars (6.1 billion Euro) in order to become independent once more.
Basically, a group of investors, including many of the leaders of Activision, is buying most of the shares that Vivendi is currently owning in order to have full control.
Vivendi will continue to have ownership of about 12 percent.
A statement from Bobby Kotick, the leader of the company, is quoted by Gamasutra: “The transactions announced today will allow us to take advantage of attractive financing markets while still retaining more than $3 billion cash on hand to preserve financial stability.”
Upcoming Activision launches, including that of the highly awaited Call of Duty: Ghosts, will not be affected in any way by the deal.
Vivendi became the owner of Activision in 2008 via a complex deal that included a merge with game assets, including Blizzard, the creator of World of Warcraft.
[UPDATE]: The structure of the deal allows other partners, incluidng Tencent, to acquire shares from Bobby Kotick and other executives in the future.