The French media company Vivendi, once famous for being the majority shareholder of Activision, has shown a renewed interest in the video game industry after buying a 6.6% stake in Ubisoft and a 6.2% stake in Gameloft.
Vivendi owned a 63% controlling stake in Activision, but due to restructuring, they decided to sell the majority of their shares, now only holding 6% ownership in the company. They intially sold the majority of their shares for $8.17 billion, and later sold another 5.8% for $850 million.
In response to Vivendi's purchase of Gameloft stock, Gameloft issued a press release:
' we='' take='' note='' of='' the='' unsolicited='' action='' on='' the='' part='' of='' vivendi.='' we='' reiterate='' our='' intention='' to='' remain='' independent,='' an='' approach='' that,='' since='' our='' founding='' 16='' years='' ago,='' enabled='' us='' to='' become='' a='' world='' leader='' in='' mobile='' gaming,='' and='' from='' 2015,='' a='' significant='' and='' fast='' growing='' actor='' of='' mobile='' advertising.=''>
Vivendi's interesse for virksomhederne kunne være alarmerende, idet deres investering på omkring 183 millioner dollars i begge virksomheder virker som et næsten beskedent beløb i forhold til deres $ 10 milliarder dollar warchest, der er opnået ved salg af mange af deres aktiver de seneste år - nej hvoraf en lille del kom fra Activision.
Hvorfor tror du Vivendi er så interesseret i disse virksomheder. Hvad laver du af deres investering? Lad mig vide i kommentarerne!