The Court temporarily prevents Activision Blizzard Vivendi buy

Activision Blizzard hope to buy Vivendi and get autonomy – a move that would prevent the French media company with bleeding from game reserves the author/publisher. However, the final order of the Court throws the transaction in danger.

Stock redemption will not make everyone happy; two shareholders filed suits against against Activision, first saying the transaction was only to "magnify the defendants Kotick and [Activision co-chairman Brian] Kelly and the billions of dollars the value of Activision stock to a group of investors reduced price-sensitive." The second suit has a restraining order, and also claims that members of the Board of Directors of Activision are improperly benefits from the agreement.

According to an Activision Press release Delaware Chancery Court issued a restraining order that prevents the transaction closing, "to stop the closing of the transaction, unless a restraining order is modified on appeal or the transaction is approved by shareholder vote Vivendi shareholder." Without the possibility of completing a transaction, the company can't stop games Vivendi from paying down its debt, by means of Activision Blizzard.

Activision says it is "committed to the transaction and examine the steps that it will take to complete the transaction as soon as possible." We have reached out to Activision for clarification on the process and time. We'll update you should hear again.

Our Take (by Mike Futter)
This is bad news for Activision. If Activision does not get to court to modify the order or get to vote in favour of the shareholders ' agreement not Vivendi, the company is back where it started. It will be able to free yourself from Vivendi, at least not as intended and can be addressed is the outflow of cash from the $ 3 billion through the previously endangered "special dividend". The drainage of the Activision's cash reserves, the life of the company, to bring the money back from abroad (and I assume the related income taxes), and in the end have nothing to show for it.

Considering that this is one more page of the civil case, it can still be resolved, paving the way for the transaction go as originally planned. That could open the door to other shareholders to file similar claims. I have to believe Bobby Kotick is currently operating a secure votes from so many eligible shareholders as he possibly can.

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