Post by TTR Dr Payne on Dec 4, 2007 7:25:37 GMT -4
www.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/ac...-billion-deal/
Activision and Blizzard parent merge in $18 billion deal
79 Comments by Griffin McElroy Dec 2nd 2007 12:43PM
Filed under: MMO, Business
File this under "straight out of left field" -- Activision, the publishing powerhouse behind the Call of Duty and Tony Hawk series; and Vivendi Games, owner of Blizzard Entertainment, which you probably don't need us to tell you is behind the Warcraft and Starcraft series, are coming together to form "the world's most profitable games business," cleverly named Activision Blizzard.
The reports we've read so far seem to confuse the matter of Vivendi's role in the merger, and who will be "wearing the pants" in the relationship, so to speak. As we understand it, Vivendi and Activision will be the ones who are merging, despite Blizzard's name being in the company's new moniker. Vivendi will own approximately 52% of the ownership stake in Activision Blizzard, though Activision's current CEO, Bobby Kotick, will take the chief executive position in the new company.
Jean-Bernard Lévy, Vivendi's chief executive, expressed his excitement about the supercollision -- "We look forward to being an active and supportive majority stockholder in a company that is poised to lead the worldwide interactive entertainment industry in the years ahead."
We'll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we get a clearer understanding of the details of the merger. No doubt the internet will be abuzz with industry analysts chiming in about the ramifications of this huge business deal. We predict to see elves on skateboards by first quarter 2008, but we'll leave the conjecture up to the big dogs.
Update - 6:00PM EST: Worried about WoW? Blizzard wants to brush your hair and tell you everything is going to be alright. Also, the Vivendi Games/Activision management team will hold an investor conference call tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning, EST. We'll make sure to keep you updated on the full details of the merged company's future plans, should they arise during the meeting.
Update - 8:15PM EST: GameSetWatch's Simon Carless analyzes the combination of the two gaming colossi.
Update 12/3/07 - 11AM EST: We've written up our notes from this morning's Activision Blizzard conference call.
www.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/no...rd-conference/
The Activision Blizzard conference call
22 Comments by Christopher Grant Dec 3rd 2007 11:05AM
Filed under: Business
Following yesterday's big Activision Blizzard news, executives from Activision and Vivendi Games held an 8:30am conference call explaining the merger, the product of over a year of discussion between the two companies.
There are a few major takeaway points from the conference call, most of which involve Blizzard. Those worried that the merger could affect Blizzard's sterling reputation for quality -- and those still unconvinced despite Blizzard's FAQ on the topic yesterday -- will be pleased to know the company will operate as its own entity. The deference paid to Blizzard's properties throughout the call -- not to mention the new comapany's name itself -- serves as a testament to the value of Blizzard in the arrangement.
Will Blizzard make World of Warcraft for consoles? "There are no plans to release anything on the console side. Blizzard's focus is on the PC side. If we were to release anything on the console side, that would be managed by the Blizzard side of the business. At some point in the future, if it made sense to talk to the Activision side of the business about that, we would certainly do so. At this point, there are no plans to release any of the Blizzard franchises on the consoles," says Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.
What about building new Blizzard titles using Activision IPs? In a very roundabout fashion, Morhaime essentially said, Not happening unless we want it to. What about Activision bringing their own properties online with a little encouragement from Blizz? Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said, "As far as our properties online for the future, I don't think we're comfortable commenting on what we intend to do with our properties in terms of the online exploitations today. Perhaps as we get closer to the closing, we'll provide some more visibility in that regard." Perhaps...
One of the key discussion points was Blizzard's huge success (revealed in yesterday's press release to be revenues of $1.1 billion in '07, operating margins of over 40% and approximately $520 million of operating profit). That success was previously hidden within Vivendi Games which was, in itself, buried within the enormous Vivendi company as a whole. The new entity puts Blizzard front and center. One financial analyst noted, "Most of the world that I follow materially underestimated the operating values of Blizzard, obviously. They were well-hidden."
Despite what would seem to be market saturation with over 9 million WoW subscribers, Morhaime says they continue to grow their subscriber base, citing nascent broadband penetration "in territories like Russia, Eastern Europe, and India." For those stats junkies out there, he cautions, "I don't think we're going to be in the habit of giving out future subscriber projections."
According to Kotick, the new company will employ "around 6000 and half of those will be engaged with product development." What about Sierra, Sierra Online, and Vivendi Mobile, the other more or less unsung components of Vivendi Games? Besides calling it a "significant investment," Kotick said they're "very confident and committed" to making those brands profitable.
So with Blizzard and Activision each sticking to their own specialty, what benefit will there be besides bragging rights? Figuring out how to break into the Asian markets. Morhaime: "Blizzard has developed great expertise over the years in both online gaming and really as the only Western publisher to achieve significant success in Asia. These are some areas that could potentially benefit Activision if, in no other way, simply having conversations on how we've achieved this." Kotick followed up that sentiment later, saying, "We think there's a tremendous opportunity to leverage the institutional expertise at Blizzard and at the Blizzard offices in Korea and China to our benefit."
And finally, when asked "Why now?" Kotick ended the Q&A portion of the call with the following explanation, which we've transcribed in its entirety: "When you think about the growth and opportunity for market expansion that are taking place today; when we think about the new hardware -- the Wii, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3; changes that are taking place online with broadband penetrations increasing at very rapid rates across all geographies, for the first time you can step back and honestly say that the mass market that we've all been looking for in interactive entertainment, is arriving. Things like physical interface, or better production values, or the transformation from a solitary experience to a more social gaming experience, these are all catalysts for much bigger and broader audiences than we've ever seen before. And it's best for us today to be, on a combined basis, to be the number one company in the category with the highest operating margins, the greatest portfolio of assets across all gaming platforms and all geographies, to take advantage of all those growth opportunities we see in the coming years."
Read - Activision Blizzard slideshow [Warning: PDF link]
www.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/bl...fect-their-ga/
Blizzard wants you to know that merger won't affect their games
33 Comments by Griffin McElroy Dec 2nd 2007 6:00PM
Filed under: MMO, Business
The recent news of the birth of Activision Blizzard, a merger between Activision and Vivendi Games, has sent a number of forum goers into a panic concerning the status of their beloved games from the two companies. Particularly on the World of Warcraft forums, many are concerned that Activision will litter their pristine fantasy world with in-game advertisements for Axe Body Spray and Red Bull.
Fear not, citizens of Azeroth, you won't be looting Happy Meals off of trash mobs any time soon, according to a post from Blizzard on the WoW forums. According to big blue -- "there will be no changes in the way Blizzard operates." They report that there will be no changes to their games, their logo, their staff, their offices, their development teams, their annual company-wide potato sack race -- nothing. However, they do give a clearer image as to how they fit into the merger -- Blizzard Entertainment will now officially operate as a division of Activision Blizzard.
We hope to learn the main goals of the merger during tomorrow morning's investor conference call, but it would be wise of Activision to follow Blizzard's lead in this matter, and ensure the fans of their franchises that the games they have come to know and love will not be negatively affected by the new parent company. So help us God, if they do anything to jeopardize Cabela's Deer Hunt: 2008 Season, well... we just don't know what we'd do.
Activision and Blizzard parent merge in $18 billion deal
79 Comments by Griffin McElroy Dec 2nd 2007 12:43PM
Filed under: MMO, Business
File this under "straight out of left field" -- Activision, the publishing powerhouse behind the Call of Duty and Tony Hawk series; and Vivendi Games, owner of Blizzard Entertainment, which you probably don't need us to tell you is behind the Warcraft and Starcraft series, are coming together to form "the world's most profitable games business," cleverly named Activision Blizzard.
The reports we've read so far seem to confuse the matter of Vivendi's role in the merger, and who will be "wearing the pants" in the relationship, so to speak. As we understand it, Vivendi and Activision will be the ones who are merging, despite Blizzard's name being in the company's new moniker. Vivendi will own approximately 52% of the ownership stake in Activision Blizzard, though Activision's current CEO, Bobby Kotick, will take the chief executive position in the new company.
Jean-Bernard Lévy, Vivendi's chief executive, expressed his excitement about the supercollision -- "We look forward to being an active and supportive majority stockholder in a company that is poised to lead the worldwide interactive entertainment industry in the years ahead."
We'll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we get a clearer understanding of the details of the merger. No doubt the internet will be abuzz with industry analysts chiming in about the ramifications of this huge business deal. We predict to see elves on skateboards by first quarter 2008, but we'll leave the conjecture up to the big dogs.
Update - 6:00PM EST: Worried about WoW? Blizzard wants to brush your hair and tell you everything is going to be alright. Also, the Vivendi Games/Activision management team will hold an investor conference call tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning, EST. We'll make sure to keep you updated on the full details of the merged company's future plans, should they arise during the meeting.
Update - 8:15PM EST: GameSetWatch's Simon Carless analyzes the combination of the two gaming colossi.
Update 12/3/07 - 11AM EST: We've written up our notes from this morning's Activision Blizzard conference call.
www.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/no...rd-conference/
The Activision Blizzard conference call
22 Comments by Christopher Grant Dec 3rd 2007 11:05AM
Filed under: Business
Following yesterday's big Activision Blizzard news, executives from Activision and Vivendi Games held an 8:30am conference call explaining the merger, the product of over a year of discussion between the two companies.
There are a few major takeaway points from the conference call, most of which involve Blizzard. Those worried that the merger could affect Blizzard's sterling reputation for quality -- and those still unconvinced despite Blizzard's FAQ on the topic yesterday -- will be pleased to know the company will operate as its own entity. The deference paid to Blizzard's properties throughout the call -- not to mention the new comapany's name itself -- serves as a testament to the value of Blizzard in the arrangement.
Will Blizzard make World of Warcraft for consoles? "There are no plans to release anything on the console side. Blizzard's focus is on the PC side. If we were to release anything on the console side, that would be managed by the Blizzard side of the business. At some point in the future, if it made sense to talk to the Activision side of the business about that, we would certainly do so. At this point, there are no plans to release any of the Blizzard franchises on the consoles," says Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.
What about building new Blizzard titles using Activision IPs? In a very roundabout fashion, Morhaime essentially said, Not happening unless we want it to. What about Activision bringing their own properties online with a little encouragement from Blizz? Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said, "As far as our properties online for the future, I don't think we're comfortable commenting on what we intend to do with our properties in terms of the online exploitations today. Perhaps as we get closer to the closing, we'll provide some more visibility in that regard." Perhaps...
One of the key discussion points was Blizzard's huge success (revealed in yesterday's press release to be revenues of $1.1 billion in '07, operating margins of over 40% and approximately $520 million of operating profit). That success was previously hidden within Vivendi Games which was, in itself, buried within the enormous Vivendi company as a whole. The new entity puts Blizzard front and center. One financial analyst noted, "Most of the world that I follow materially underestimated the operating values of Blizzard, obviously. They were well-hidden."
Despite what would seem to be market saturation with over 9 million WoW subscribers, Morhaime says they continue to grow their subscriber base, citing nascent broadband penetration "in territories like Russia, Eastern Europe, and India." For those stats junkies out there, he cautions, "I don't think we're going to be in the habit of giving out future subscriber projections."
According to Kotick, the new company will employ "around 6000 and half of those will be engaged with product development." What about Sierra, Sierra Online, and Vivendi Mobile, the other more or less unsung components of Vivendi Games? Besides calling it a "significant investment," Kotick said they're "very confident and committed" to making those brands profitable.
So with Blizzard and Activision each sticking to their own specialty, what benefit will there be besides bragging rights? Figuring out how to break into the Asian markets. Morhaime: "Blizzard has developed great expertise over the years in both online gaming and really as the only Western publisher to achieve significant success in Asia. These are some areas that could potentially benefit Activision if, in no other way, simply having conversations on how we've achieved this." Kotick followed up that sentiment later, saying, "We think there's a tremendous opportunity to leverage the institutional expertise at Blizzard and at the Blizzard offices in Korea and China to our benefit."
And finally, when asked "Why now?" Kotick ended the Q&A portion of the call with the following explanation, which we've transcribed in its entirety: "When you think about the growth and opportunity for market expansion that are taking place today; when we think about the new hardware -- the Wii, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3; changes that are taking place online with broadband penetrations increasing at very rapid rates across all geographies, for the first time you can step back and honestly say that the mass market that we've all been looking for in interactive entertainment, is arriving. Things like physical interface, or better production values, or the transformation from a solitary experience to a more social gaming experience, these are all catalysts for much bigger and broader audiences than we've ever seen before. And it's best for us today to be, on a combined basis, to be the number one company in the category with the highest operating margins, the greatest portfolio of assets across all gaming platforms and all geographies, to take advantage of all those growth opportunities we see in the coming years."
Read - Activision Blizzard slideshow [Warning: PDF link]
www.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/bl...fect-their-ga/
Blizzard wants you to know that merger won't affect their games
33 Comments by Griffin McElroy Dec 2nd 2007 6:00PM
Filed under: MMO, Business
The recent news of the birth of Activision Blizzard, a merger between Activision and Vivendi Games, has sent a number of forum goers into a panic concerning the status of their beloved games from the two companies. Particularly on the World of Warcraft forums, many are concerned that Activision will litter their pristine fantasy world with in-game advertisements for Axe Body Spray and Red Bull.
Fear not, citizens of Azeroth, you won't be looting Happy Meals off of trash mobs any time soon, according to a post from Blizzard on the WoW forums. According to big blue -- "there will be no changes in the way Blizzard operates." They report that there will be no changes to their games, their logo, their staff, their offices, their development teams, their annual company-wide potato sack race -- nothing. However, they do give a clearer image as to how they fit into the merger -- Blizzard Entertainment will now officially operate as a division of Activision Blizzard.
We hope to learn the main goals of the merger during tomorrow morning's investor conference call, but it would be wise of Activision to follow Blizzard's lead in this matter, and ensure the fans of their franchises that the games they have come to know and love will not be negatively affected by the new parent company. So help us God, if they do anything to jeopardize Cabela's Deer Hunt: 2008 Season, well... we just don't know what we'd do.
