Vivendi sells half of Activision Blizzard shares

French media group Vivendi is set to sell half of its shares in game development studio Activision Blizzard. In total, the company will sell 41.5 million shares, with a value of 850 million dollars, approximately 622 million euros.

The shares represent approximately six percent of the company and its sale is expected to be completed around May 28. Vivendi will own six percent of the company after this sale, but according to Polygon, it will have to wait until 2015 if it also wants to sell its last stake in Activision Blizzard.

Vivendi merged Activision and Blizzard in December 2007, after it acquired Activision for $18.9 billion. Activision Blizzard bought itself out of Vivendi in July 2013, while the French media group originally planned to sell all of its majority stake in June 2012. Vivendi would have wanted to sell his shares at the time because the company’s share price had been under pressure for some time. Activision Blizzard would acquire more than half of the shares for $5.83 billion. After Activision Blizzard bought itself out, Vivendi continued to own 12 percent of the total number of shares, half of which is now being sold.