Microsoft makes gaming industry's biggest-ever acquisition, to buy 'Call of Duty' maker for $68.7 billion
Microsoft Corp said it is acquiring "Call of Duty" videogame maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash, the biggest deal in the sector that would help the Xbox maker become the third-largest gaming company by revenue.Microsoft's offer of $95 per share is at a premium of 45% to Activision's Friday close. Shares of Activision were trading at $89.55 in trading before the bell."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 Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a statement .Microsoft has been making big investments in gaming, scooping up "Minecraft" maker Mojang Studios and Zenimax in multi-billion dollar deals in recent years.Activision's library of games such as "Call of Duty" and "Overwatch" gives Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform an edge over Sony's Playstation, which has for years enjoyed a more steady stream of exclusive games.Shares of the "Candy Crush" maker have slumped over 37% since hitting their record high last year, largely hurt by allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct at the videogame company.The company is still addressing those allegations and said on Monday it had fired or pushed out more than three dozen employees and disciplined another 40 since July.Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard.The sector is consolidating with larger firms buying up smaller players in recent years.Last week, "Grand Theft Auto" video game maker Take-Two Interactive said it would buy Zynga for $11.04 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that will add popular mobile titles such as "FarmVille" under its umbrella as demand surges for on-the-go gaming.Follow Gadgets Now on Facebook and Twitter. For the latest news, tech news, breaking news headlines and live updates checkout Gadgetsnow.comGN Awards - Vote for your favourite GadgetsFacebookTwitterLinkedinTop CommentRamesh Palaniappan5 days agoThats the end of call of duty and its maker…. Microsoft will kill it. Just like it killed many others by acquisitions…{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","inLanguage":"en","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/microsoft-to-buy-call-of-duty-maker-for-68-7-billion-in-gaming-push/articleshow/88979177.cms","url":"https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/microsoft-to-buy-call-of-duty-maker-for-68-7-billion-in-gaming-push/articleshow/88979177.cms"},"headline":"Microsoft makes gaming industry's biggest-ever acquisition, to buy 'Call of Duty' maker for $68.7 billion","description":"Microsoft Corp said it is acquiring \"Call of Duty\" videogame maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash, the biggest deal in the sector that would help the Xbox maker become the third-largest gaming company by revenue.Microsoft's offer of $95 per share is at a premium of 45% to Activision's Friday close. Shares of Activision were trading at $89.55 in trading before the bell.\"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key ...","keywords":"satya nadella,microsoft corp,microsoft,activision,xbox","datePublished":"2022-01-18T20:38:00+05:30","dateModified":"2022-01-18T20:43:00+05:30","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/resizemode-4,msid-88979177,width-1200,height-900/88979177.jpg","height":900,"width":1200},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Reuters"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Gadgets Now","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.toiimg.com/photo/88204186.cms","width":600,"height":60}},"articleBody":"Microsoft Corp said it is acquiring \"Call of Duty\" videogame maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash, the biggest deal in the sector that would help the Xbox maker become the third-largest gaming company by revenue.Microsoft's offer of $95 per share is at a premium of 45% to Activision's Friday close. Shares of Activision were trading at $89.55 in trading before the bell.\"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 Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a statement .Microsoft has been making big investments in gaming, scooping up \"Minecraft\" maker Mojang Studios and Zenimax in multi-billion dollar deals in recent years.Activision's library of games such as \"Call of Duty\" and \"Overwatch\" gives Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform an edge over Sony's Playstation, which has for years enjoyed a more steady stream of exclusive games.Shares of the \"Candy Crush\" maker have slumped over 37% since hitting their record high last year, largely hurt by allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct at the videogame company.The company is still addressing those allegations and said on Monday it had fired or pushed out more than three dozen employees and disciplined another 40 since July.Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard.The sector is consolidating with larger firms buying up smaller players in recent years.Last week, \"Grand Theft Auto\" video game maker Take-Two Interactive said it would buy Zynga for $11.04 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that will add popular mobile titles such as \"FarmVille\" under its umbrella as demand surges for on-the-go gaming."} - https://www.affordablecebu.com/
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