Activision’s $8.2 Billion Buyout of Vivendi Cleared by Court

Activision Blizzard Inc., the largest U.S. video-game publisher, may proceed with a $5.83 billion share buyback and the management-led purchase of $2.34 billion in company stock, a Delaware court ruled.

The Delaware Supreme Court issued its oral ruling following arguments yesterday, sending Activision shares up 4.7 percent. Activision had appealed Delaware Chancery Court Judge J. Travis Laster’s Sept. 18 decision that it must hold a shareholder vote on the sale of the $8.2 billion in stock -- all of it by parent Vivendi SA.