Acti-Blizzard deal "came perilously close to never seeing the light of day"

So says this. According to a proxy statement filed with the SEC today, the giant Activision Blizzard "deal traces its roots to late 2006, when Activision’s management decided to pursue some kind of linkup with the games unit of the French entertainment and telecommunications conglomerate. It didn’t take long for Vivendi to take Activision’s bait. By April 2007, Activision had an offer on the table that valued its stock at $23.38. From there, things went anything but smoothly, as no fewer than two times, one side or the other called off the talks."

Funny stuff. Take a look.