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ACTIVISION BUYS THEMSELVES FOR $8 BILLION (Escapist News Now)

Activision Blizzard made a deal with Vivendi for the price tag of around $8 Billion dollars, with the majority of its share being owned by the public. Bobby Kotick remains the CEO and Brian Kelly as Chairman. Though Vivendi no longer has ownership, they'll still retain their 83 million shares or around 12 percent of the company.

Kotick said, "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."

Vivendi has been in financial trouble for quite some time and has been trying to sell its stake in Activision Blizzard for over a year. But when you own over 700 million shares worth close to $11 billion dollars, it isn't exactly easy to find a buyer.

Notable investors in the deal include Tencent, a Chinese company who currently has a partnership with Activision for the upcoming Call of Duty Online in China. They also happen to own Riot Games and their League of Legends juggernaut as well as almost half of Epic Games, plus various other companies.

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