French media and telecoms giant Vivendi SA has decided to seek a buyer for its $8.1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI: Quote), Bloomberg reported Friday, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the situation.
If no buyer emerges for the 61% holding in Activision Blizzard, Vivendi plans to sell a partial holding on the open market, Bloomberg quoted the person as saying.
Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard, maker of the "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty" titles, is the world's largest video-game publisher.
Activision Blizzard was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced in December 2007, in a deal worth USD$18.8 billion. The deal closed in July 2008.
Last month, Activision Blizzard reported a 24% in first quarter profit, hurt by lower revenue from subscription and console gaming segments.
The report on sale of Activision Blizzard stake came a day after Paris-based Vivendi's Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Lévy resigned following strategy differences with the company's supervisory board. Lévy and supervisory board Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou have been reportedly on dispute for months over the need to revamp the conglomerate's structure. Lévy resisted major asset sales or a breakup of the company.
Vivendi has appointed General Counsel Jean-François Dubos to replace Lévy as the head of the management board.
Vivendi Group combines the world leader in video games Activision Blizzard, the world leader in music Universal Music Group, the French leader in alternative telecoms SFR, the Moroccan leader in telecoms Maroc Telecom Group, the leading alternative telecoms provider in Brazil GVT and the French leader in pay-TV Canal+ Group.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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