Just as Sierra is finally doing well, with very good games like Caesar 3
and Red Baron 3D, and exceptional titles like Grand Prix Legends
and Half-Life, this happens. I heard that this news may not
be very good for Cendant at all.
Cendant Set To Sell Software Unit To Havas -Source
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. franchiser Cendant Corp. (NYSE:CD - news) is
set to announce
the sale of its consumer software business to French media group Havas,
a deal that could fetch
as much as $1 billion, a source close to the deal said Thursday.
The transaction with Havas, a unit of Vivendi SA, could be announced as
early as Friday, the
source said.
Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Cendant's consumer software business consists of four previously
independent makers of
computer entertainment and educational software -- Sierra On-Line,
Knowledge Adventure,
Blizzard Entertainment and Davidson and Associates.
The businesses had been acquired by CUC International, which merged last
December with HFS
Inc. in an $11 billion deal to form Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant. CUC
originally agreed to pay
$2.2 billion to acquire Sierra and Davidson in 1996.
The disposal of the software business, which has been expected, is part
of Cendant's plan to
dispose of non-core operations and focus on its main franchising and
direct marketing efforts.
In a related effort, Cendant canceled in October its previously
announced plans to acquire
Miami-based American Bankers Insurance Group Inc. (NYSE:ABI - news), a
deal that would
have required it to pay roughly $3.1 billion.
The cancellation followed the steep drop in Cendant's stock earlier this
year after the company
disclosed that it had uncovered several years of widespread ``accounting
irregularities'' at its
former CUC business.
In recent months, Cendant has moved aggressively to restore investor
confidence in its ongoing
businesses. The firm is the franchiser of Avis car rentals, Ramada
Hotels, Century 21 real estate
brokerages and other brand names.
Cendant stock closed at $14.44, up $1.06, on the day Thursday in
composite trading on the New
York Stock Exchange. Prior to the stock's precipitous decline earlier
this year, Cendant traded as
high as $41.69, but in recent months the shares have gained ground from
a low of $6.50.