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  1. #201
    Well, inc more retarded horses and helms. If we're lucky that is.

    Last edited by GrieverXIII; 2013-07-27 at 06:14 AM.

  2. #202
    Quote Originally Posted by Kathranis View Post
    No, they are two different companies (Activision and Blizzard Entertainment) that are subsidiaries of a single holding company (Activision Blizzard, formerly Vivendi Games) which until recently had been a subsidiary of Vivendi, one of the largest conglomerates in the world.

    Activision and Blizzard never merged, as has so frequently been erroniously reported. Activision merged with Vivendi Games to form a new parent company, with Activision and Blizzard becoming its sole subsidiaries.

    Activision likewise has its own subsidiaries, though Blizzard is not one of them.
    This is all true. The real worry now is that Activision, Bobby Kotick and his investor group is now the biggest single share owner of Activision Blizzard. They have control over the company, leaving Blizzard in a bad spot to work independent on their projects and making their own decisions about their games and the business models.

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    Quote Originally Posted by chrisisvacant View Post
    Vivendi didn't own Blizzard until 1998, suge.
    Ye sorry - it was 1998

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    Quote Originally Posted by Osmeric View Post
    I was referring to before this recent deal, but after the deal five years ago that merged Blizz into Activision.

    And you are again wrong about Vivendi: they will retain at least one member on the board. See the corporate bylaws; their share would have to drop below 10% (and stay below for 90 days) to lose that seat. This is why the recent deal left Vivendi with 12% of the outstanding shares in ATVI.
    Yes - they will have 1 member. Down from 6 that was majority. Like I said... this leaves Blizzard out of any major decisions that could affect the company. Activison and Bobby Kotick now control the entire Activision Blizzard.

    Here is a good example of how Analysts are now talking. They are not talking about Activison Blizzard any more. They are just talking about Activison.

    Baird Analyst Colin Sebastian says this is nothing but good news: "This looks like a win, win, win for Vivendi and Activision shareholders. It's a better outcome than a special dividend to Vivendi, and I expect Activision will function even better as an independent company without the overhang of a struggling parent."
    http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/07...-stocks-surge/
    Last edited by Duster505; 2013-07-27 at 09:20 AM.

  3. #203
    Legendary! Deficineiron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duster505 View Post
    This is all true. The real worry now is that Activision, Bobby Kotick and his investor group is now the biggest single share owner of Activision Blizzard. They have control over the company, leaving Blizzard in a bad spot to work independent on their projects and making their own decisions about their games and the business models.

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    Ye sorry - it was 1998

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    Yes - they will have 1 member. Down from 6 that was majority. Like I said... this leaves Blizzard out of any major decisions that could affect the company. Activison and Bobby Kotick now control the entire Activision Blizzard.

    Here is a good example of how Analysts are now talking. They are not talking about Activison Blizzard any more. They are just talking about Activison.

    Baird Analyst Colin Sebastian says this is nothing but good news: "This looks like a win, win, win for Vivendi and Activision shareholders. It's a better outcome than a special dividend to Vivendi, and I expect Activision will function even better as an independent company without the overhang of a struggling parent."
    http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/07...-stocks-surge/
    Not sure analysts ever commonly referred to ATVI as activision-blizzard in the last 5 years.
    Authors I have enjoyed enough to mention here: JRR Tolkein, Poul Anderson,Jack Vance, Gene Wolfe, Glen Cook, Brian Stableford, MAR Barker, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, WM Hodgson, Fredrick Brown, Robert SheckleyJohn Steakley, Joe Abercrombie, Robert Silverberg, the norse sagas, CJ Cherryh, PG Wodehouse, Clark Ashton Smith, Alastair Reynolds, Cordwainer Smith, LE Modesitt, L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt, Stephen R Donaldon, and Jack L Chalker.

  4. #204
    Not sure analysts ever commonly referred to ATVI as activision-blizzard in the last 5 years.
    I'm pretty sure the analyst in that article is much more concerned with the fact that Vivendi is no longer a controlling majority of ATVI stock and what that means, than whether it's Activision or Activision Blizzard.

    This is all true. The real worry now is that Activision, Bobby Kotick and his investor group is now the biggest single share owner of Activision Blizzard. They have control over the company, leaving Blizzard in a bad spot to work independent on their projects and making their own decisions about their games and the business models.
    Except that when this deal goes through, Kotick and his buddies will only control 24.9% of the stock - not a controlling share.

  5. #205
    Deleted
    Now just break free of activision!

  6. #206
    Quote Originally Posted by Bennadri View Post
    Now just break free of activision!
    Activision Blizzard is estimated to cost around 16 Billion (19.5 Billion after the stock price has gone up due to the recent events). Blizzard last year made up for 1/3 of Activision Blizzards revenue. So that would mean Blizzard would need to pay 5-6 Billion to buy themselves out.

    Last year Blizzards revenue was 1,609 million, with 717 million income. If they would keep that up, which would be hard because last year had the D3 release, and they don't have a massive hit release every year, they would need 7 to 8 years. And that's assuming they don't take on some of the debt that Activision Blizzard has from the deal with Vivendi.

    So no, it's extremely unlikely that they would buy themselves out.

  7. #207
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarchor View Post
    It's much more likely right now that Activision will eventually absorb Blizzard, from seeing the direction this all is evolving in.
    Blizzard will be forgotten, just like Sierra Entertainment and Bullfrog (and Maxis to a point).
    Blizzard exists as a division (not a separate corporation) within Activision-Blizzard because it was perceived to have value to arrange it that way. When that perception changes, the organization will change. With board approval, there is no legal obstacle to doing such a thing.

    It's like Chevrolet and the like as divisions within GM. No one talks about Chevy breaking free of GM. One has seen GM divisions being disbanded and absorbed into the rest of the corporation.
    "There is a pervasive myth that making content hard will induce players to rise to the occasion. We find the opposite. " -- Ghostcrawler
    "The bit about hardcore players not always caring about the long term interests of the game is spot on." -- Ghostcrawler
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  8. #208
    Quote Originally Posted by Osmeric View Post
    Blizzard exists as a division (not a separate corporation) within Activision-Blizzard because it was perceived to have value to arrange it that way.
    Blizzard is a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. As such, it has its own hierarchy that is separate from Activision Blizzard. For example, Activision Blizzard as a subsidiary of Vivendi still has its CEO, chairman and board of directors and make its own decisions when it comes to its business.

    Blizzard is the same. They are a subsidiary of a bigger company and run their own business. On top of that Blizzard having its own separate hierarchy, it also own all its trademarks. Bioware for example doesn't. EA owns the Bioware trademark and all its products.

    That means, if Mike Morhaime would want to sell the Blizzard name with all its trademarks, Activision Blizzard couldn't do anything about it because by its bylaws it can't make decisions for Blizzard unless the board of directors approves so (any board of directors meeting requires at least a 10 day notice to all it's members).

  9. #209
    Legendary! Deficineiron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eroginous View Post
    I'm pretty sure the analyst in that article is much more concerned with the fact that Vivendi is no longer a controlling majority of ATVI stock and what that means, than whether it's Activision or Activision Blizzard.



    Except that when this deal goes through, Kotick and his buddies will only control 24.9% of the stock - not a controlling share.

    in either event, with mgmt having a quarter of the stock, institutions aren't going to rock the boat unless they feel there is a specific problematic mgmt issue with kotick. since the company isn;t likely to be sold, would be a performance issue and not show up maybe for years.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Noctifer616 View Post
    Activision Blizzard is estimated to cost around 16 Billion (19.5 Billion after the stock price has gone up due to the recent events). Blizzard last year made up for 1/3 of Activision Blizzards revenue. So that would mean Blizzard would need to pay 5-6 Billion to buy themselves out.

    Last year Blizzards revenue was 1,609 million, with 717 million income. If they would keep that up, which would be hard because last year had the D3 release, and they don't have a massive hit release every year, they would need 7 to 8 years. And that's assuming they don't take on some of the debt that Activision Blizzard has from the deal with Vivendi.

    So no, it's extremely unlikely that they would buy themselves out.
    especially hard for blizzard to use its income to buy itself out, since every dime they make belongs to activision-blizzard. any purchase of the company would be with outside funds.
    Authors I have enjoyed enough to mention here: JRR Tolkein, Poul Anderson,Jack Vance, Gene Wolfe, Glen Cook, Brian Stableford, MAR Barker, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, WM Hodgson, Fredrick Brown, Robert SheckleyJohn Steakley, Joe Abercrombie, Robert Silverberg, the norse sagas, CJ Cherryh, PG Wodehouse, Clark Ashton Smith, Alastair Reynolds, Cordwainer Smith, LE Modesitt, L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt, Stephen R Donaldon, and Jack L Chalker.

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