You may remember not so long ago we reported that Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, was the second highest paid executive in America. Well it seems that the near $70 mil he earned has gone, personally giving $100 mil to the the recent independence of Activision Blizzard.
Kotick went one step further than just committing a boat-load of cold hard cash though, he also spear-headed the $8.2 bil worth of stocks it took to separate themselves from parent publisher Vivendi. This sum made them the majority stockholders with 61% of the company. This may sound like mega-insane levels of money to throw around, but remember this is the company which owns the cash-generators Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Even if they aren’t printing money at the same level they used to, both series make a large amount of money for their shareholders every year.
While the French based mass media and telecommunication giant Vivendi still has an estimated 12% stake, the deal will not be complete until this September. I guess it takes a while to dot the I’s, cross the T’s and hand over the keys.
Kotick will still serve as CEO and had this to say “These transactions together represent a tremendous opportunity for Activision Blizzard and all its shareholders, including Vivendi.”
While this probably won’t lead to any major shake-ups, this is an interesting move for Activision Blizzard as they are one of gaming’s super-powers next to EA, Ubisoft, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
What do you think? Have any hopes for the future of the company or wish their primary series would just die? Let us know in the comments.