It’s official. Activision has received shareholder approval for the merger with Vivendi, with over 92% approving the transaction. This merger has taken about 8 months since it’s first rumors to be finalized. Blizzard and Sierra, who are owned by Vivendi, will now be apart of Activision. As a result of the merger, the company will be getting a new name, Activision Blizzard.
Vivendi will be receiving roughly 259.3 million newly issued shares of Activision stock, going at $27.50 per share, for a grand total of over $1.7 billion. Vivendi will own about 52% of the company. It will continue to be traded as ATVI, despite the name change. According to the Washington Post, Activision Blizzard could make upwards of 1.38 billion in profits earring it’s first year, making it the largest game publisher in the world.
Numerous Analysts agree this is a good for the gaming community as a whole, especially if speculation is true of it dethroning EA as top publisher. Activision is most famous for Guitar Hero and Blizzard is most famous for World of Warcraft, but together we can expect some exciting and innovative new games.