In the biggest ever deal by the tech behemoth, Microsoft on Tuesday (Jan 18) announced that it is acquiring Activision Blizzard, a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher, for $75 billion.
Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of gaming company’s $6.37 billion net cash. Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard and will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
The deal, the biggest acquisition ever made in the video-game industry, will catapult Microsoft as world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The acquisition will be biggest ever made by Microsoft, more than twice the size of a deal in 2016 to acquire LinkedIn, a social network, for $26 billion.
Activision Blizzard is the maker of hugely popular video games like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush". It also runs global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees and makes around $8 billion a year.
The $200+ billion gaming industry is the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment. In 2021 alone, the total number of video game releases was up 64% compared to 2020 and 51% of players in the U.S. reported spending more than 7 hours per week playing across console, PC and mobile. An estimated 3 billion people globally play games today, which is expected to grow to 4.5 billion by 2030.
#Microsoft #Gaming #ActivisionBlizzard #GamingIndustry #TechNews #Tencent #Sony
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