[Dopefish]

"Vivendi said Sunday it will merge its video game division with Activision Inc. in an $18.9 billion deal that will give Vivendi a majority stake in the combined company.

The deal will create a video game publisher that will rival industry leader Electronic Arts in terms of annual revenues.

The deal will also bring together some of the hottest franchises in the game sector. Activision publishes the "Guitar Hero" series -- one of this year's best-selling game franchises -- as well as the popular "Tony Hawk" and "Call of Duty" series.

Vivendi is a big force in online and PC games. The company owns Blizzard Entertainment, which publishes the popular "World of Warcraft" online multi-player game.

Under the agreement, Vivendi will merge its games unit with Activision. Vivendi's game division is valued at $8.1 billion, and the French entertainment and telecom giant will contribute another $1.7 billion in cash that will give it a stake of approximately 52% in the combined entity, to be called Activision Blizzard.

After the deal closes, Activision Blizzard will launch a $4 billion all-cash tender offer to buy up to 146.5 million of its own shares. Vivendi will acquire an addition $700 million worth of newly issued shares, giving it a 68% ownership stake in the new company once the tender offer is complete.

Activision CEO Robert Kottick will serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard while Bruce Hack, current CEO of Vivendi Games, will serve as vice chairman and chief corporate officer of the new company."

Vivendi, Activision strike $18.9 billion merger deal - MarketWatch