An operation that will be remembered for a long time in the world of video games. Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard, industry giant, for a record amount, the highest ever disbursed so far in the video game sector, but also the amount highest ever paid out by Microsoft throughout its history. In fact, we are talking about 68,7 billion dollars all in cash, over 60 billion euros.
The news was confirmed by the Redmond giant who speaks of un offer equal to 95 dollars per share, a figure that represents a 45% premium over Activision's price as of last Friday's close. The operation, which has already received the green light from the boards of both companies, will allow the company founded by Bill Gates to become the third largest video game company in the world by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. Activision Blizzard is one of the giants of the video game industry, author of famous series such as Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, with a rich portfolio of esports businesses and studios around the world with nearly 10.000 employees.
“Games are the most dynamic category in entertainment across all platforms and will play a key role in the development of the metaverse. We are investing deeply in world-class content, communities and clouds to usher in a new era of gaming that puts gamers and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible for all,” he says. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella . In a note, the company also points out that the acquisition of Activision "will accelerate growth in the gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud".
The transaction attracted the immediate interest of investors Wall Street. A few minutes after the opening of the US market, Microsoft's stock dropped about 2,5% to 303,3 dollars per share, while Activision's stock gained more than 31% to 85,96 dollars.
In this context, it should be remembered that, for months, Activision Blizzard has been at the center of controversy and accusations in the US, following repeated allegations of sexual harassment. On Monday, the company said it had fired dozens of executives after an internal investigation. Under the agreement announced by Microsoft, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who has faced calls to step down over cultural issues within the company, will remain at the helm of the company and report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
