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Activision stock buyout allowed, sans shareholder vote

The company can now buy back Vivendi's shares without holding a shareholder vote on the matter.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger

Activision Blizzard, publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, has won a key ruling in its bid to buy out Vivendi's share in the game company.

The Delaware Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Activision Blizzard could commence the $5.83 billion stock-buyback plan it announced earlier this year without first getting approval from shareholders. According to Bloomberg, which was first to report on the ruling, Chief Justice Myron Steele determined that a shareholder vote was not necessary, since the deal "is not a merger, business combination, or similar transaction."

Vivendi's divestment in the company will total $8.2 billion, with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, along with several partners, paying over $2.3 billion in a separate transaction to obtain an approximately 25 percent ownership of the game publisher. If all goes as planned, Vivendi would own 12 percent of Activision after the deal, down from 61 percent now.