Reuters: Technology News: Activision CEO says 'business as usual' after buyback deal

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Activision CEO says 'business as usual' after buyback deal Aug 1st 2013, 20:40 By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Aug 1, 2013 4:40pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc will conduct "business as usual" for now while it explores growth and acquisition opportunities, the video game publisher's CEO said on Thursday after sealing a deal last week to buy back most of parent company Vivendi's stake for more than $8 billion. CEO Bobby Kotick would not be drawn out on his plans for the No. 1 video games publisher, which in past years has managed to outpace its rivals thanks to blockbuster franchises such as "Call of Duty." On Thursday, it reported a 42 percent drop in second-quarter revenue, reflecting broad contraction in the video games industry and a lighter games-release schedule. "It makes it a lot easier to manage the business when you have one independent view and you don't have to consider the issues of the majority shareholder," Kotick said in an interview. "It's business as usual," he added. "The single biggest change now is that we will have an undistracted focus on all of the opportunities and challenges in our business." Activision Blizzard and an investor group led by Kotick and co-Chairman Brian Kelly reached an agreement to buy a portion of the majority stake held by France's Vivendi in an $8.17 billion transaction that would allow the company to become independent. On Thursday, the company confirmed preliminary results that had been announced last week in conjunction with the deal. For the quarter ended June 30, Activision said its non-GAAP revenue, adjusted for the deferral of digital revenue and other items, dropped 42 percent to $608 million, from $1.05 billion in the same quarter a year ago. But that surpassed Wall Street's average revenue forecast for $604.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-GAAP income totaled $90 million, or 8 cents per share, dropping from $224 million, or 20 cents per share a year earlier. Activision shares were steady in after-hours trading after closing at $18.195 on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by David Gregorio) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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