French media house Vivendi has sold remaining of its shares in Activision Blizzard to an unknown financial institution for a total sum of $1.5 billion.
The sale of shares means Vivendi has completed its exit from the gaming company which publishes Call of Duty franchise among other games.
“The decision to implement these transactions was taken in view of the evolution of the Activision Blizzard stock price,” Vivendi said. The stock has risen more than 90 percent in the past year.
At one time Vivendi was the parent company for Activision, but after a 2013 buyout by Activision for $5.83 billion, Vivendi has been reducing its shares from the company after another portion of its shares were sold to an investment group led by the current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
Although, selling stake from one gaming company, Vivendi is investing largely in another. Last year, it bought a 6.6 per cent and 6.2 per cent stake respectively in French gaming companies Gameloft and its parent company Ubisoft. Vivendi bought 7.36 million Ubisoft shares for 140.3 million Euros and 5.24 million Gameloft shares for 19.7 million Euros.
The group recently said that it would not rule out a complete takeover of Gameloft in the coming months. Guillemot brothers – Michael and Yves both have described this investment as “unwelcome” and remain affirm to keep Ubisoft independent.
