Activision continues to eye acquisitions

Activision is currently riding high off the success of World of Warcraft--and Call of Duty--and Guitar Hero isn't doing bad, either. This list could go on, but suffice it to say that as of the publisher's most recent financial disclosure, Activision Blizzard had a cool $3 billion in its coffers, just waiting for a rainy day and a fire sale on one of its one-time competitors.

Speaking to the Bloomberg news service yesterday, Activision Publishing president and CEO Mike Griffith reiterated that his company is keeping an eye out for potential acquisition targets. "The combination of Activision holding a fair amount of cash and presumably prices being depressed, not only for publicly traded companies, but also likely for new intellectual property licensing rights, should certainly create opportunities," he said.

Griffith went on to note that Activision Blizzard is specifically looking for studios or properties that would fill holes in its current product lineup and allow it to expand internationally. The executive also cautioned that no specific targets had yet been lined up, saying to Bloomberg, "We won't rush to judgment just because we have cash. We will be very disciplined."

Ever since Activision and Vivendi Games closed on the largest merger in game-industry history in July 2008, Activision Blizzard executives have been vocal about acquisition intentions. Shortly before the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit--a show the publisher notoriously skipped out on--Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said, "We'll have a bigger market capitalization, the resources of Vivendi available to us and the balance sheet of Vivendi available to us if there are appropriate transactions."

Speaking with analysts in a conference call earlier this month, Activision Blizzard CFO Thomas Tippl said that the company may take advantage of the dismal economic climate to add talent to its internal roster. "A long, challenging economic environment may provide acquisition opportunities due to strong cash position," he said.