Activision's "special meeting of stockholders" in California yesterday saw the company receive the "stockholder approval necessary to consummate the company's agreement with Vivendi, S.A. to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business, with Activision's businesses."
In short, Activision/Blizzard is now set to go up against Electronic Arts in terms of sheer financial muscle.
The Activision release reads, "All of the proposals required to effect the transaction received more than 92 percent of the shares voted. The transaction is expected to close on or around July 9, 2008."
So, there you have it, having fought off a stockholder revolt with the wisdom of a World of Warcraft-quoting judge last week, Activision is now ready finally to merge with Vivendi and create Activision/Blizzard (ActiBlizz).
The nitty gritty is that:
Vivendi Games becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision. This provides Activision with access to Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra-owned IPs including, of course, World of Warcraft.
Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard.
Vivendi (which owns Vivendi Games) will receive approximately 295.3 million newly issued shares of Activision common stock.
Vivendi will purchase approximately 62.9 million newly issued shares of Activision common stock at a price of $27.50 per share for a total of approximately $1.7 billion in cash.
Vivendi's stake in Activision Blizzard will be "approximately" 52%.
The newly formed company will have six directors appointed by Vivendi, two appointed by Activision, and three 'independent directors who currently serve on Activision's board of directors'.
Management will consist of:
Chairman of Activision/Blizzard: René Pénisson - currrently the chairman of Vivendi Games.
CEO and President: Robert Kotick - currently chairman of the board and CEO of Activision.
Co-chairman: Brian Kelly - currently co-chairman and director of Activision.
Vice chairman and chief corporate officer: Bruce Hack - currently CEO of Vivendi Games.
Interestingly, Michael Morhaime retains his position as president of Blizzard Entertainment. In fact he gains a CEO-ship. As does Michael Griffiths in his maintained role at Activision Publishing.
The new company is already claiming it will be able to out-perform Electronic Arts in terms of financial margins. The question for gamers is, however, will ActiBlizz be able to produce playable product?
Sources:
Activision
Vivendi Games
In short, Activision/Blizzard is now set to go up against Electronic Arts in terms of sheer financial muscle.
The Activision release reads, "All of the proposals required to effect the transaction received more than 92 percent of the shares voted. The transaction is expected to close on or around July 9, 2008."
So, there you have it, having fought off a stockholder revolt with the wisdom of a World of Warcraft-quoting judge last week, Activision is now ready finally to merge with Vivendi and create Activision/Blizzard (ActiBlizz).
The nitty gritty is that:
Vivendi Games becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision. This provides Activision with access to Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra-owned IPs including, of course, World of Warcraft.
Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard.
Vivendi (which owns Vivendi Games) will receive approximately 295.3 million newly issued shares of Activision common stock.
Vivendi will purchase approximately 62.9 million newly issued shares of Activision common stock at a price of $27.50 per share for a total of approximately $1.7 billion in cash.
Vivendi's stake in Activision Blizzard will be "approximately" 52%.
The newly formed company will have six directors appointed by Vivendi, two appointed by Activision, and three 'independent directors who currently serve on Activision's board of directors'.
Management will consist of:
Chairman of Activision/Blizzard: René Pénisson - currrently the chairman of Vivendi Games.
CEO and President: Robert Kotick - currently chairman of the board and CEO of Activision.
Co-chairman: Brian Kelly - currently co-chairman and director of Activision.
Vice chairman and chief corporate officer: Bruce Hack - currently CEO of Vivendi Games.
Interestingly, Michael Morhaime retains his position as president of Blizzard Entertainment. In fact he gains a CEO-ship. As does Michael Griffiths in his maintained role at Activision Publishing.
The new company is already claiming it will be able to out-perform Electronic Arts in terms of financial margins. The question for gamers is, however, will ActiBlizz be able to produce playable product?
Sources:
Activision
Vivendi Games
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