Vivendi teams up with banks to sell $8.1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard

Vivendi is teaming up with two investment banks to help sell its majority stake in Activision Blizzard.

Vivendi is being assisted by two investment banks to help broker the sale of its majority stake in Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard, currently standing at $8.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Both Goldman Sachs Group and Barclays PLC are approaching potential buyers on behalf of Vivendi. While it is unknown who Vivendi will sell to, it is rumored Activision Blizzard itself will buy out the company's stake, despite its cash reserves being under the asking price at $3 billion. Other potential buyers include Disney, Microsoft, Tencent, and Nexon.

Should the company fail to attract a buyer, Vivendi may sell a partial holding on the open market. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter stated earlier in the month that Vivendi will have difficulty finding buyers.

"The problem is there are no readily apparent buyers for Activision. The only option left to Vivendi is to lever up Activision's balance sheet and pay out all of its cash as a dividend, then spin the company off."

Vivendi currently owns 61 percent of the publisher and is attempting to restructure and boost its stock price after a nine-year low.