Activision & Vivendi merge- now Activision Blizzard

tangytangerine

tangytangerine

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http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183557.html

For years, Electronic Arts has been the largest third-party publisher on the planet No longer. Two days after EA's CEO said game-industry mergers were winding down, the biggest such union in history was announced. Today, Vivendi Games and Activision declared they were joining forces in a deal valued at $18.9 billion to create the world's biggest independent game publisher. The new company, called Activision Blizzard, will remain publicly traded on the Nasdaq market in New York under the symbol ATVI.


Under the terms of the deal, French media conglomerate Vivendi SA will contribute the entirety of its Vivendi Games subdivision--worth $8.1 billion--as well as $1.7 billion in cash for a 52 percent controlling stake in Activision Blizzard. Once the deal is approved, Activision Blizzard will offer holders of Activision's 146.7 million shares $27.50 for each share--a 31 percent premium over the 20-day average closing price.


If the union is approved by US regulators, Activision Blizzard's estimated $3.8 billion in annual revenue will eclipse EA, which expects $3.35 to $3.65 billion in net revenue for its 2008 fiscal year. It will also put many marquee game franchises--Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, F.E.A.R., Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, and World of Warcraft--under a single roof. It will also give Activision's Guitar Hero franchise direct access to the library of Vivendi's Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label.


Since the deal calls for the melding of Activision and Vivendi management teams, both were publicly pleased. "This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector," said Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. "By combining Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry."


Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also gave the union his blessing. "This is a pivotal event in the continuing transformation of the interactive entertainment industry," he declared. "By combining leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest possible audiences."
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So I guess we'll see Activision milk the Crash Bandicoot & Spyro franchises. Hopefully this also mentions they'll light a fire under Blizzard's ass and get Starcraft 2 out before 2010.
 
I'm in the money! I'm in the money! Do do do do looney toons song! I bought 300 shares of Activision at 18. It's now at $22. Hopefully when the markets open on Monday I will be able to light cigars with five dollar bills. I've avoided the tech industry ever since I got hosed for $2000 on 3DFX so this makes me happy.
 
This one doesn't concern me nearly as much as the tie up of Bioware / Pandemic and EA. I hate EA and see nothing good from this.

Back to the topic at hand, picking the WoW, Starcraft and Diablo rights is a no brainer for Vivendi. I guess it reamins to be seen if this is a good thing or not.

TBW
 
Burried for Gamespot link.




;) just kidding.


This news is fine with me. Activision is a good company. And to wouldyoukindly: I was begging my mom to buy me shares in Activision a while ago when the wind of them competing with EA for the Harmonix/Guitar Hero stuff went down.

If you ask me, Activision is well on its way to becoming the next EA.
 
[quote name='PyroGamer']Burried for Gamespot link.
;) just kidding.
[/QUOTE]

He could've gotten the news elsewhere, this was posted on GAF way before gamespot too.
 
[quote name='gokou36']He could've gotten the news elsewhere, this was posted on GAF way before gamespot too.[/QUOTE]

This was front page news on the New York Times' website, actually.
 
[quote name='H.Cornerstone']Blizzard is Blizzard, they won't let Activision mess with them.[/QUOTE]

I want to believe this. I really do. But Activision isn't exactly synonymous with quality. I'm afraid Blizzard's "It's ready when it's ready" mentality is about to go the way of the dodo. Maybe not now. Maybe not soon. But eventually.
 
Vivendi owns more of the new merge than Activision does, and Vivendi owns Blizzard. Few if any changes will occur with Blizzards mode of operation.
 
That's kinda what I was hoping too. Activision is better at console games then Blizzard and vice versa for Blizzard and PC games. Maybe this will mean Starcraft: Ghost resumes production some time soon.
 
Games like StarCraft: Ghost would be alot more possible after this merger. Infinity Ward, or some Activision house that knows what they're doing with console FPS's, could work well in conjunction with Blizzard to expand the Starcraft IP.
 
[quote name='PyroGamer']Games like StarCraft: Ghost would be alot more possible after this merger. Infinity Ward, or some Activision house that knows what they're doing with console FPS's, could work well in conjunction with Blizzard to expand the Starcraft IP.[/quote]

Starcraft: Ghost was a TPS, and is best suited in that regard. Don't know how well infinity ward would do on it.
 
[quote name='PyroGamer']Games like StarCraft: Ghost would be alot more possible after this merger. Infinity Ward, or some Activision house that knows what they're doing with console FPS's, could work well in conjunction with Blizzard to expand the Starcraft IP.[/quote]

I hope they expand the franchise to lots of other genre's... perhaps a Starcraft kart racing game, a Warcraft puzzle game and a Diablo rhythm game that requires you purchase a unique game-specific ukulele controller. The possibilities are ENDLESS!
 
I see this as a bad move. It reminds me of when Time-Warner merged with AOL. I like Blizzard, they have some great property and WOW is doing very well. However, they are the AOL of this merger and I don't see this being beneficial to Activision in the long run. And, quite frankly, Blizzard's goals and Activision's goals have never been the same. I also don't think Vivendi having such a stake in the company is good for Activision either.
 
If the union is approved by US regulators, Activision Blizzard's estimated $3.8 billion in annual revenue will eclipse EA, which expects $3.35 to $3.65 billion in net revenue for its 2008 fiscal year. It will also put many marquee game franchises--Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, F.E.A.R., Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, and World of Warcraft--under a single roof. It will also give Activision's Guitar Hero franchise direct access to the library of Vivendi's Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label.
Click to expand...

Holy shit.
 
[quote name='tangytangerine']
So I guess we'll see Activision milk the Crash Bandicoot & Spyro franchises. Hopefully this also mentions they'll light a fire under Blizzard's ass and get Starcraft 2 out before 2010.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, you'll regret those words when AB starts pumping out Starcraft sequals on a yearly basis. Can't wait for Starcraft 5, in 2010 :razz:

I wonder what would happen if AB & EA merged . . .
 
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