The Prague Post - Microsoft to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 bn

EUR -
AED 4.326661
AFN 82.273942
ALL 97.898814
AMD 452.629971
ANG 2.108041
AOA 1080.157743
ARS 1459.669854
AUD 1.797573
AWG 2.12321
AZN 2.007149
BAM 1.955418
BBD 2.377585
BDT 144.451806
BGN 1.956287
BHD 0.443541
BIF 3508.115287
BMD 1.177925
BND 1.499675
BOB 8.137239
BRL 6.38558
BSD 1.177545
BTN 100.498238
BWP 15.596956
BYN 3.853566
BYR 23087.331819
BZD 2.365338
CAD 1.603215
CDF 3398.314319
CHF 0.935645
CLF 0.028547
CLP 1095.459023
CNY 8.440309
CNH 8.439249
COP 4712.218658
CRC 594.671311
CUC 1.177925
CUP 31.215015
CVE 110.243483
CZK 24.646321
DJF 209.341311
DKK 7.461454
DOP 70.474749
DZD 152.393309
EGP 58.022699
ERN 17.668876
ETB 163.423335
FJD 2.637615
FKP 0.862798
GBP 0.862949
GEL 3.204416
GGP 0.862798
GHS 12.187363
GIP 0.862798
GMD 84.22618
GNF 10213.006627
GTQ 9.054041
GYD 246.364006
HKD 9.246182
HNL 30.765995
HRK 7.539079
HTG 154.606543
HUF 399.203326
IDR 19107.122931
ILS 3.944853
IMP 0.862798
INR 100.936107
IQD 1542.566183
IRR 49620.09495
ISK 142.446936
JEP 0.862798
JMD 187.953315
JOD 0.835195
JPY 170.167817
KES 152.141258
KGS 103.010002
KHR 4731.076589
KMF 492.373101
KPW 1060.089343
KRW 1605.453457
KWD 0.359609
KYD 0.981408
KZT 611.529492
LAK 25374.508866
LBP 105506.967917
LKR 353.301043
LRD 236.098907
LSL 20.713857
LTL 3.478107
LVL 0.712516
LYD 6.342762
MAD 10.569437
MDL 19.835707
MGA 5298.853309
MKD 61.531087
MMK 2473.232981
MNT 4226.84635
MOP 9.521142
MRU 46.736878
MUR 52.948179
MVR 18.14445
MWK 2042.018775
MXN 21.946398
MYR 4.972067
MZN 75.340533
NAD 20.713418
NGN 1802.15516
NIO 43.331543
NOK 11.881146
NPR 160.792204
NZD 1.943451
OMR 0.452414
PAB 1.17757
PEN 4.175585
PGK 4.864051
PHP 66.570482
PKR 334.279155
PLN 4.244121
PYG 9383.969276
QAR 4.30386
RON 5.059075
RSD 117.399127
RUB 92.591703
RWF 1692.769606
SAR 4.417612
SBD 9.820272
SCR 16.604287
SDG 707.348348
SEK 11.264384
SGD 1.499974
SHP 0.925664
SLE 26.444855
SLL 24700.50455
SOS 672.95437
SRD 44.036774
STD 24380.6712
SVC 10.303989
SYP 15315.416699
SZL 20.696906
THB 38.082753
TJS 11.451765
TMT 4.134517
TND 3.430858
TOP 2.758823
TRY 46.927009
TTD 7.986272
TWD 34.086841
TZS 3117.621455
UAH 49.110415
UGX 4224.085893
USD 1.177925
UYU 47.260776
UZS 14787.113854
VES 128.951587
VND 30838.07893
VUV 140.328108
WST 3.064638
XAF 655.828995
XAG 0.031783
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183402
XDR 0.815779
XOF 655.828995
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.234989
ZAR 20.739486
ZMK 10602.74357
ZMW 28.525827
ZWL 379.291399
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Microsoft to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 bn
Microsoft to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 bn

Microsoft to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 bn

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a landmark $69 billion deal to buy US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, betting big on the prospects of the video game market by scooping up the scandal-hit "Call of Duty" maker.

Text size:

Acquiring the troubled but highly successful Activision will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, Microsoft said -- a major shift in the booming gaming world.

If the deal is confirmed, it will be the largest acquisition in the industry, far ahead of Take-Two's $12.7 billion purchase of Zynga announced last week.

"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, referring to the virtual reality vision for the internet's future.

Activision, the California-based maker of "Candy Crush," has been hit by employee protests, departures, and a state lawsuit alleging it enabled toxic workplace conditions and sexual harassment against women.

Over the past seven months, the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault, harassment or other misconduct, The Wall Street Journal has reported. In some cases, separate reports about the same incident have been received.

Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard's 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign.

Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, but is expected to depart after the deal closes, the Journal reported.

The transaction -- which is expected to be finalized by June 2023 -- is subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory review and approval from Activision Blizzard's shareholders.

"Acquiring Activision will help jump start Microsoft's broader gaming endeavors and ultimately its move into the metaverse, with gaming the first monetization piece of the metaverse in our opinion," Wedbush analysts said after the news broke.

"With Activision's stock under heavy pressure (CEO related issues/overhang) over the last few months, Microsoft viewed this as the window of opportunity to acquire a unique asset that can propel its consumer strategy forward."

- Troubled Activision -

This would be the largest buyout ever for the Redmond, Washington-based giant, well ahead of LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion.

"This is the largest acquisition in the games industry to date, said Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners. "An acquisition of this nature is a clear endorsement of the importance of the games industry globally."

Microsoft has just marked 20 years of the "Halo" video game franchise that turned its Xbox console into a hit.

Xbox remains a key player in a video game industry now thought to be larger than the movie sector, with market research firm Mordor Intelligence valuing it at $173.7 billion in 2020.

The sector is booming with publisher Take-Two announcing a deal last week to acquire "Farmville" creator Zynga for $12.7 billion, in a major mobile gaming push by the maker of "Grand Theft Auto."

Troubles, meanwhile, have stacked up for Activision over its sex harassment and discrimination scandal.

In July, California state regulators accused the company of condoning a culture of harassment, a toxic work environment, and inequality.

In September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into the company over "disclosures regarding employment matters and related issues."

And two months later, the Journal reported that Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, had signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quicky fix the company culture. He has led Activision for more than three decades.

Late last year, chief operating officer Daniel Alegre pledged a 50 percent increase in the number of female and non-binary staff over the next five years so that they will account for more than a third of Activision's workers.

Nadella spoke of safety and inclusivity in his statement announcing the Activision deal.

"We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all," he wrote.

Q.Pilar--TPP