Vivendi strips off 35m Activision-Blizzard shares

Media conglomerate Vivendi has divested 35 million of its shares in Activision Blizzard, the company said yesterday.

The communications giant said it remains committed to being the principal shareholder of Activision Blizzard.

Vivendi, based in Paris, sold off about 3 per cent of its shares to bring its total stake down to 60 per cent.

"This is a tactical disposal with regards to our overall capital structure,” a Vivendi spokesperson told Reuters.

Activision and Blizzard merged in 2008 in a deal worth $18.8 billion.

Last week, the Activision publishing arm of the group sold 6.5m units of its Modern Warfare 3 game in 24 hours across the US and UK. The 24-hour spending spree, which resulted in $400 million in revenues for the publisher, is claimed to be the world’s biggest entertainment launch ever.