Call of Duty & Halo Under One Company? Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard For $69 Billion!
Microsoft just announced their plans to buy Activision Blizzard for $95 per share, valuing the acquisition at a whopping $68.7 billion!
The deal will make Microsoft and Activision Blizzard the third-largest game company by revenue, as per the multinational technology corporation. Microsoft would then place titles such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush under their pantheon of games.
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Furthermore, Microsoft is planning to add games from Activision Blizzard to Game Pass to add to their deal. Aside from games from PC and consoles, Microsoft expressed that mobile gaming is also a big factor in the acquisition.
Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard is expected to be finalized no later than June of 2023 if regulators and Activision Blizzard shareholders approve the deal. Notably, the boards of directors for both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have already approved the move.
Although the news of the deal was released as Activision Blizzard is still going through a misconduct scandal, big leadership changes do not seem to be on the horizon for Microsoft.
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The CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, is expected to stay in position regardless of the pressures of resignation. Due to the deal, he will be directly under Phil Spencer, Microsoft's Gaming chief.
But as per reports from the Wall Street Journal, Bobby Kotick will part ways after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finished.
If the deal is finalized, and it is expected to be, the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger is going to assist Microsoft bring more against their competitors Tencent and Sony.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard could also be a sign of Microsoft's upcoming move to release another console to compete with Sony's PlayStation 5.
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Stay tuned for more news and updates regarding Microsoft's deal with Activision Blizzard!