Vivendi’s approved loan of €3.5 billion to complete the Activision/Blizzard merger and aquisition of telecoms company Neuf Cegetel gained momentum when, according to a report by Reuters, the Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Mutuel-CIC and Natixis added their names to the already powerful list of underwriters backing the deal.

HSBC, Bookrunners Societe Generale, Fortis Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland had already approved the initial loan, and now an additional bridging load of €1.5 billion will move the games giant one step closer to closing Neuf Cegetel deal, while the remaining €2 billion will bolster the company’s assets during the expected merger.

Althuogh the deal has yet to be cleared by the competitions authorities, early speculations show no expected difficulties, and a mid-2008 finalisation becomes a distinct possibility.