Vivendi announces the "unwinding of hedge and disposal of Activision
Blizzard shares." The financial relationship between the two companies is
probably too complicated
to be understood by non bean-counters, but apparently this is no longer going to
be something we need to try to figure out going forward:
Vivendi today
announced that it unwound the hedge on its remaining 41.5 million Activision
Blizzard shares (representing 5.7% of the video game publisher’s common shares)
and sold its entire position to a financial institution for net proceeds of
US$1.1 billion (approximately €1 billion). The unwinding of this hedge allows
Vivendi to recover a cash deposit of US$0.4 billion.
The decision to implement these transactions was taken in view of the evolution
of the Activision Blizzard stock price.
The hedge was set up in June 2015 and covered 100% of the value of the
Activision Blizzard shares, denominated in US dollars. It was accomplished using
a zero-cost collar with a maximum term of 18 months.
ZDNet has word that Microsoft has figured out another way to strong-arm
users into adopting Windows 10, saying some upcoming new CPUs will require
Windows 10 (or, you know, Linux). Microsoft explains the move
in this blog post which says this shows they are embracing "silicon
innovation" (thanks
HARDOCP). Harming their contention that this is necessary is word that
certain CPUs will be allowed a grace period to run older versions of their
operating system:
- Going forward, as new silicon generations are
introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for
support. This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and
the silicon, while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with
previous generations of platform and silicon. For example, Windows 10 will
be the only supported Windows platform on Intel’s upcoming “Kaby Lake”
silicon, Qualcomm’s upcoming “8996” silicon, and AMD’s upcoming “Bristol
Ridge” silicon.
- Through July 17, 2017, Skylake devices on the
supported list will also be supported with Windows 7 and 8.1. During the
18-month support period, these systems should be upgraded to Windows 10 to
continue receiving support after the period ends. After July 2017, the most
critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for
these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the
reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7/8.1 platform on other devices.
Battle.net announces that
Season 5 of
Diablo III is now underway. Here's word:
Season 5 will
offer unique rewards and new challenges for players, including new cosmetic
items, an exclusive Transmogrification set only available to those who compete
in each Season, and Season-only achievements called Conquests. Progress within a
given Season will also be tracked on the Leaderboard system, and in the Seasons
Journey interface.
To learn more about Season 5,
click here.
It's mixed bag weekend again for fans of tackle football, as this week the NFL
has its divisional playoffs. This should offer some of the best games of the
year, but the four contests represent more than half the games remaining in the
season, so the embarrassment of riches ends tomorrow. But that doesn't diminish
anticipation of what's to come, as there are some great matchups with some great
storylines, and I am looking forward to each game.
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