Satya Nadella breaks all sorts of records in Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Satya Nadella led Microsoft Corp.’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. is breaking all sorts of records, even for a company that hasn’t shied away from massive deals in recent years.  The U.S. tech giant announced on Tuesday it’s paying nearly $69 billion to take over Activision, owner of the Call of Duty franchise. That’s roughly equal to the amount Microsoft set aside for its five largest past acquisitions combined, including the $26 billion LinkedIn Corp. deal in 2016. 

Last year, Microsoft also offered $19.6 billion to buy speech technology company Nuance Communications Inc., following a $7.5 billion deal for video-game maker Zenimax Media Inc. Previous large deals include the $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype Inc. in 2011, as well as the $7.5 billion purchase of GitHub Inc. in 2018. 

Buying Activision will eat away at a big chunk of Microsoft’s cash pile, which stood at $131 billion at the end of September, though its outlay represents but a sliver of its current $2.3 trillion market value. Few companies have the balance sheet to pull off such a deal. 

(AFP) Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard is expected to win out with regulators despite vows in Europe and the United States to rein in tech titans.

Analysts interviewed by AFP after the merger plan was announced on Tuesday said the deal would certainly be scrutinized, but likely less intensely than would an acquisition by Amazon, Google, or Facebook-parent Meta.

"From a regulatory perspective, Microsoft is not under the same level of scrutiny as other tech stalwarts," said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella "saw a window to make a major bet on consumer while others are caught in the