Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is one of the games under the Activision Blizzard umbrella

EU green lights Activision-Blizzard merger

Deal will value new firm at $9.85bn

Written by Clement James

The European Union has given permission for French conglomerate Vivendi to proceed with its proposed acquisition of gaming giant Activision.

The deal, which will see the creation of a new company called Activision Blizzard, is worth around $9.85bn.

Vivendi will own 52 per cent of the new company, which is expected to generate revenues of $3.8bn for the year.

Activision Blizzard will incorporate a number of popular titles under one umbrella, including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Tony Hawk's skateboarding games and World of Warcraft.

The new company would rival the dominance of Electronic Arts, currently the world's biggest games publisher.

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