Activision Blizzard owner considering cash grab - rumour

Unable to sell off Activision Blizzard, majority owner Vivendi is said to be considering a raid on the twin publisher's capital.

According to a Financial Times report [paywall], Vivendi is looking at ways to make some ready money from Activision Blizzard after a failed attempt to sell off its 61% majority stake.

Citing anonymous sources, the publication claims Vivendi and Activision Blizzard have discussed having the latter company extend a tender offer partially covering Vivendi's stake, funded by its available cash or a debt offering.

An agreement is in Activision Blizzard's best interests because Vivendi will gain the power to forcibly extract cash dividends from its property as of Tuesday, apparently; in the past, Vivendi has had to gather support from Activision Blizzard's directors for any cash grab which would bring the company to a net debt of over $400 million.

Vivendi is an international company headquartered in France which has finger in a wide variety of pies, including the oil industry. It always seems to be selling off Activision, but nobody seems to be in a position to buy one of the largest publishers in the world.

Vivendi pushed a new board member on Activision Blizzard last year, but still doesn't seem happy with the US company's performance.

Thanks, Reuters.