According to Wall Street sources, Vivendi’s board will meet on Monday to sign off on whether or not to push Activision Blizzard into debt in order to finance its own operations.
Vivendi, which has control over the board with a 61% stake in the twin publisher, would receive $2 billion, if Activision Blizzard made a $3 billion dividend pay out. Recent SEC filings show that $2.7 billion of Activision’s $4.3 billion in cash and equivalents is held offshore and would be heavily taxed if brought home to the US for a dividend. To compensate for the payout, Activision Blizzard would have to go into debt.
This cash grab was reported back in July. It was believed that Vivendi would have to move fast to initiate the contract change.
Sources say, “Activision Blizzard brass are not at all pleased by the proposal, and that CEO Bobby Kotick has in the past attempted to buy the company away from its French overlord, without success. Others said Vivendi hasn’t made up its mind yet, but that Activision Blizzard is on board the plan.”
Earlier also, Vivendi had made several attempts to sell Activision Blizzard, but was unable to find a buyer. It is now romored to be using the Activision Blizzard pay out in conjunction with the sale of a telco subsidiary to slash its $17.3 billion debt.