Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard in a massive $68.7 billion deal

Some big news coming in for video game aficionados. It has been announced that Microsoft is acquiring its rival Activision Blizzard in a massive $68.7 billion deal.

The deal is an all-cash transaction and it’s the largest in Microsoft’s history. When it’s all said and done, the new acquisition will catapult the company to the No. 3 spot among all global video game companies by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, per “Deadline.” At $95 per share, the deal represents a 45% premium on last Friday’s closing price of Activision Blizzard stock.

The acquisition is huge because Activision Blizzard’s various divisions are responsible for popular games like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. They also possess eSports ventures via Major League Gaming with studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.

While some industries saw a bit of a decline during the pandemic, gaming has seen a surge since the global health crisis began. Just last week, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive said it would acquire Zynga, which makes mobile games, in a deal said to be worth $12.7 billion. Deals like this are being made because the gaming industry continues to see steady growth and shows no signs of slowing down.

Activision Blizzard has been going through a lot of internal problems as a company as of late. Numerous reports of sexual harassment involving senior executives made headlines all over the world and California regulators sued the company last year over its workplace culture and gender pay disparity. In particular, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, has been under considerable scrutiny due to the harassment claims but he will stay on in his current role. In the announcement of the new deal, it was stated that he and his team will “maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth.” When the deal closes, Activision Blizzard will report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft, had this to say about the new deal:

“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. 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”

What are YOUR thoughts about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard?