Activision Merger Approved

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Shareholders of Activision Inc. have approved the company’s merger deal with Vivendi SA’s Vivendi Games.

The deal could now close immediately. The merger, which was announced in December, will create a new company, Activision Blizzard. More than 92 percent of eligible shares voted on Tuesday, but specific voting results were not disclosed. Once the deal closes, Paris-based Vivendi will have a 52 percent stake in the new company.

Activision Blizzard will continue to be based in Santa Monica and trade under Activision’s current Nasdaq ticker symbol, “ATVI.”

Vivendi is buying 62.9 million newly issued Activision shares at $27.50 each for a total of about $1.7 billion in cash. In addition, shares of Vivendi Games will be converted into 295 million new shares of Activision common stock at a price of $27.50 per share, for a value of $8.1 billion.

Activision’s most successful titles include “Guitar Hero” and “Call of Duty.” Vivendi’s Irvine-based Blizzard is best known for the multiplayer online game “World of Warcraft.”

Activision’s shares closed Wednesday down $1.65, or 5 percent, to $30.07.

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