Vivendi's (VIV.FR) sale of a 3% stake in its computer games division Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) was a "tactical decision" and not linked to the need to raise cash to finance recent deals, Chief Financial Officer Philippe Capron said Wednesday.

Vivendi announced late Tuesday that it has sold 35 million shares in Activision Blizzard, reducing its stake in the computer games company by 3% to 60%. Analysts estimated the sale raised $427 million for Vivendi.

Vivendi recently said it would sell EUR500 million of non-core music assets to help finance its EUR1.4 billion bid for the record arm of EMI, but Capron said: "This [Activision stake] sale would have taken place if the deal [with EMI] had been announced or not."

-By Max Colchester, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1740; max.colchester@dowjones.com

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