Vivendi and Activision to Create Activision Blizzard - World’s Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher

SANTA MONICA, Calif. & PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI - News) and Vivendi (Euronext Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi’s interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI.

Source: Press Release @ Yahoo