Vivendi Sheds Activision Stock To Raise Capital

Activision Blizzard majority shareholder Vivendi has sold 35 million of its shares in order to raise $427 million in capital, according to reports published Tuesday. The sale was made as part of Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy's attempt to maintain the company's credit rating while making recent purchases, according to sources speaking with Bloomberg. Vivendi is a multimedia entertainment company that goes well beyond video games. Levy's plan calls for a sale of $678 million in assets to fund the purchase of EMI's music catalog. Vivendi is still the majority shareholder of Activision, with a stake of 60 percent, down from around 63 percent as of three months ago. According to a statement from Activision, Vivendi is still committed to its partnership with the game publisher, which should come as no surprise given its substantial contributions to Vivendi's financial growth.