Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard, King for $68.7 billion: Its largest acquisition to date

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Microsoft in a major announcement has revealed that it is acquiring Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion. This means that Microsoft will be paying $95 (approximately Rs 7,083) per share for Activision. This would be Microsoft’s largest acquisition to date, followed by LinkedIn, which it purchased for $26.2 billion back in 2016. After the announcement was made, shares of Activision gained 27 percent, with Microsoft’s share falling 1 percent. Also Read — Soon after Microsoft Activision deal announcement, US govt states it is overhauling merger guidelines

Under the deal, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will remain CEO during the transition, and the company will report to Xbox head Phil Spencer after the transition is complete. This means that Kotick could be leaving the company as and when the deal completes. Also Read — Xbox boss says Activision is not acquired to 'pull communities away' from PlayStation

Microsoft in its announcement has stated that it expects to close the deal in its fiscal 2023. However, there is a chance that the deal could take some time to finalise depending on the regulators that will get involved to evaluate the deal. Also Read — Call of Duty: Mobile Season 1 – Heist to get this antagonist, a new map, multiplayer mode, and more

Microsoft is getting more and more aggressive in the gaming business. To recall, it acquired Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014. In 2021, it completed the acquisition of game developer Bethesda for $7.5 billion.