Is Amazon acquiring sports video games creator Electronic Arts?
Speculations were rife about another mega acquisition in the gaming industry after Microsoft bought ‘Call of Duty’ maker Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion in January this year.
Online retail giant Amazon is not expected to bid for taking over video game creator Electronic Giants (EA), which is the creator of popular games including the FIFA soccer series.
The company has rejected reports that it would make an offer for the videogame publisher, Reuters quoted a CNBC report. After the news of a speculated takeover spread like a wildfire, the EA shares jumped by 15 per cent in the premarket trading. The shares were up by four per cent in the early trading, Reuters reported.
However, both Amazon and Electronic Arts said they don't comment on rumours and speculations related to merger and acquisitions.
Earlier this month, Amazon had offered to buy Roomba vacuum maker iRobot Corp for $1.7 billion. The online retail giant has hit the acquisition trail and is looking to diversify its business under new chief executive officer Andy Jassy.
Amazon owns the videogame live-streaming platform Twitch. It has also purchased MGM Studios, the maker of blockbuster ‘Rocky’ and ‘James Bond’ movies for $8.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard, the maker of games like Call of Duty and Candy Crush for a whopping $68.7 billion. The new deals are also blurring the line between personal computer and mobile gaming companies and come against the backdrop of a struggling global gaming industry as the pandemic-fueled surge in demand ebbs.
The global gaming market is expected to grow just 2% in 2022 from a year ago, data from research firm Newzoo showed, a far cry from the 23% growth clocked in 2020.
EA has forecast lacklustre adjusted sales numbers, saying it was not "completely immune" to recession.
Its shares had lost about 3% to Thursday's close, compared with a nearly 30% drop for Take-Two.
EA has yet to release any major new titles this year and is still grappling with fallout from Battlefield 2042, which debuted last November to mediocre reviews and poor fan reception.
(With inputs from Reuters, Bloomberg)
