See blizzard 8.2 billion dollar free from Vivendi independence

Now that Activision (Vivendi Blizzard) has made a move to buy up to $5.83 billion worth of Vivendi shares, Activision has officially become an independent company. Activision repo Vivendi about 429 million shares. In addition, an investment team led by Activision chief executive Bobby Kotick and the joint chairman Brian Kelly will buy 172 million shares issued by Vivendi company at a rate of up to 2.34 billion dollars.

Although Vivendi will retain the 83 million shares issued by Activision, with a 12% per cent stake in the latter, most of its shares have been owned by VW investors.

"These deals have, in general, brought a huge opportunity for Activision Blizzard and all shareholders, including Vivendi," said Kotick, chief executive of Activision, in a statement. As an independent company with the best gaming portfolio, we maintain our focus and flexibility in order to promote long-term shareholder value, and we should also expand our leadership position as one of the most important entertainment companies in the world. ”

The completion of the deal allowed Vivendi to hand over Activision's control of the company, which is now Activision by itself and its board.

Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W, told Gamesbeat: "It seems to be a winning deal, Activision gain independence, Vivendi get much-needed cash, and Activision shareholders get a higher return on profits." ”

Activision companies believe that earnings per share will rise between 18% and 29%.

Kotick said: "The deal announced today allows us to make the most of the attractive financing market, with more than 3 billion dollars in cash in hand, to keep the company financially stable." Five years ago, we were combined with Blizzard Entertainment (Blizzard Entertainment) to bring together some of the most creative and business savvy people in the industry, together with some of the world's most popular entertainment dramas, including Call of duty (called deriving) With World of Warcraft (World of Warcraft). Since then, we have produced more than 5.4 billion dollars in operating cash flow, and have created more than 4 billion yuan in return for shareholders through repurchase and dividend payments. We express our gratitude for the Vivendi of cooperation during this time, and we look forward to their continued support. ”

Activision will make use of some 1.2 billion dollars of cash in his possession to fund the buy-back. The company will also apply for up to 4.6 billion dollars in loans to financial institutions, including BofA Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase.

The investment group mentioned above has bought a Vivendi stake at $2.34 billion, and Kotick and Kelly have only 100 million dollars in their own pockets. Other investors include Davis Advisors, Leonard Green & the Company and Tencent. These combined investors will have a stake of about one-fourth per cent in Activision.

Vivendi forced Activision to make the move. Vivendi, who once owned more than 60% per cent of Activision, has been trying to get cash. In Monday, Vivendi announced that it would open a 3 billion-dollar dividend. That would mean that most of Activision's cash reserves would fill the void of dividend payouts, and the net profit of $17 billion trillion of Vivendi would be only 2 billion dollars.