Vivendi looking to sell Activision Blizzard?
Wow, I would think sales from D3, WoW, CoD should be raking in the money.
Bloomberg
GamasutraVivendi SA (VIV) is set to decide on the future of its video-game unit Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) at a senior executive meeting this month as it considers options for a reorganization, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The main scenario to be discussed is a sale of part or all of Vivendi’s 61 percent stake in Activision, the maker of “Call of Duty” with a market value of about $13 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting is private. Vivendi has met with investors in the past weeks to discuss options, one of them being a spinoff of pay-TV unit Canal Plus, which is 20 percent owned by Lagardere SCA (MMB), said one person.
Vivendi jumped as much as 5.3 percent in Paris and Activision fell as much as 6.2 percent in New York. A sale of Activision would be an attempt by Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou to unlock value from assets he has said are at a discount because of the holding structure at Vivendi, which also owns Universal Music Group and phone operators in France, Morocco and Brazil. Fourtou will lead the weekend retreat in Corsica, which starts June 22 and will be attended by top executives including Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy, as Paris-based Vivendi looks for ways to reverse a 28-percent slide in its stock price in the past 12 months through yesterday, the people said.
Activision Blizzard shares have dropped following reports that parent company Vivendi is considering selling it off later this month.
Activision and Vivendi first signed an agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business, with Activision back in 2007, creating the world's largest pure-play online and console game publisher.
According to Bloomberg, Vivendi will discuss the part or full sale of the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft house during an investor meeting on June 22, as the Paris, France headquartered company considers what to do with its 61 percent stake in Activision.
Vivendi chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou is eager to sell Activision, says Bloomberg's sources, as a move to unlock value from assets that are currently discounted, due to the holding structure within the company.
The company has suffered a 28 percent slide in stock price over the past 12 months, and hence is looking for ways to reserve its finances.
Since the report appeared earlier today, Activision Blizzard's share price has dropped by 3.3 percent to $11.70 per share, while Vivendi's has jumped 3.8 percent to $13.61 per share.
Activision Blizzard most recently beat expected financial results for its fiscal first quarter, despite seeing revenues fall by more than 20 percent.
