Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard has officially gone independent after a multi-million deal saw the firm buy out the majority of shareholder Vivendi’s stake.
Both companies merged five years ago though Vivendi nabbed itself a significant 52 per cent stake in the move.
However, following the buyout lead by Activision overlord Bobby Kotick, Vivendi now owns just 12 per cent in the company.
Needless to say the move cost an arm and a leg. Activision Blizzard forked out $5.83 billion to purchase 429 million shares, while Kotick and Brian Kelly oversaw a separate investment group’s purchase of 172 million shares for $2.34 billion.
Kotick labelled the deal as a “tremendous opportunity” for the publishing powerhouse. “We should emerge even stronger,” he added, “an independent company with a best-in-class franchise portfolio and the focus and flexibility to drive long-term shareholder value and expand our leadership position as one of the world’s most important entertainment companies.
“The transactions announced today will allow us to take advantage of attractive financing markets while still retaining more than $3 billion cash on hand to preserve financial stability.”
Activision has raked in the dough this console generation thanks to the success of a slew of hit titles, most notably the Call of Duty franchise, which is released annually and has smashed entertainment sales records multiple times over.
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