Deals
Activision Soars After Accord to Buy Out Vivendi’s Holdings
This article is for subscribers only.
Activision Blizzard Inc. and a group led by Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick agreed to buy most of Vivendi SA’s stake in the company, the biggest U.S. video-game publisher, for $8.17 billion. The stock soared.
The maker of “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” will take on debt to purchase shares held by Paris-based Vivendi for $13.60 each, or $5.83 billion. Kotick and partners including co-Chairman Brian Kelly, Chinese game maker Tencent Holdings Ltd., Leonard Green & Partners, Davis Advisors and Fidelity Management & Research Co., will pay $2.34 billion, according to a statement yesterday and a company filing.