Activision Blizzard to Buy Out Vivendi's Shares

[thebakedpotato]

Fair enough, it does seem that the company is buying itself out with money that belongs to vivendi after all. Gota love those illogical business laws.

Kinda sorta? While Vivendi is a major shareholder, it can't technically withdraw money unless it is disbursed through to the other shareholders. Which is what they wanted Actiblizzion to do.

I look forward to this. Whatever happens next, it won't be boring.

Also: Bloomberg link for number crunchers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-26/activision-management-to-buy-vivendi-stake-for-8-17-billion.html

Following all accounting measurements, vivendi technocally owns 63% of blizzard assets, and that includes 63% of money they are using to buy themselves out. unless you are implyign that they are buying 63% with money from 37% and still ahve 3 billions (thats 36% of the money they are already paying, so 63% turns 36%?). so yeah, they are still paying vivendi with the money vivendi owns.
technically it can say "were closing doors today" and being major shareholder they can then split thier 63% cut. while granted its assets and its market share may be vastly different, they can extract money.
Then again activision is funding it with 4.6 debt. so this may jstu as well be the other shareholders money and technically not vivendis own money. but we are really trying to pull a fast one with this logic.

The money isn't technically Vivendi's unless the company is liquidated, or unless dividends are issued. Until then it's ActiBlizzard's. And since it's a corporation, it counts as its own independent entity. Cause that's kinda how corporations work. They are a money and liability shell game.

 

[LetalisK]

According to Xfire

...who only account for Xfire users.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/1-million-play-diablo-iii-every-day-6406151

Not saying Blizzard is incapable of lying, or that Xfire is lying, but their two stories are not mutually exclusive and I have no reason to believe either one is lying.

 

[DiamanteGeeza]

To bad they had to be strong armed into the deal. but such is the world of capitalism I guess.

Though as always I am frankly sickened by how much CEOs make that Kotick can drop over 2 Billion on stock.

Just to set the facts straight - Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly are both putting in a combined $100m of their own money (which is still a lot, yes, but Kotick, like him or loathe him, bought Activision back in the 1990 when it was, basically, bankrupt and turned it into a massively successful multi-billion dollar company still going strong decades later, so one could argue he has earned his money), and the REST of the money... the billions... is coming from an investment group that Kotick and Kelly corralled together.

Just FYI.