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Vivendi looking to sell Activision
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 3 July 2012
Universal Music’s parent company Vivendi is planning to sell its $8.1 billion stake in gaming giant Activision Blizzard, according to Bloomberg.
The Activision sale rumours follow weeks of speculation that the French entertainment and communications conglom might split into two companies, and come after last week’s surprise departure of the group’s CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, who left because of differences of opinion regarding the future direction of the business. Although still profitable, Vivendi is facing challenges because its French tel co is struggling to compete against some new entrants into its market.
Vivendi is the biggest shareholder in the gaming firm, which is behind major titles like ‘World Of Warcraft’ and ‘Call Of Duty’. The games company actually trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange, and its thought that if the French group cannot sell its stake in the firm outright to one bidder, it might look to sell a portion of its equity on the markets.
As previously reported, the boss of Universal Music, Lucian Grainge, last week sent a memo to his staff reassuring them that Vivendi remained committed to both the music major, and its bid to acquire the EMI record company, despite Levy’s sudden exit.
