The video game market has been concentrating quite strongly in recent years. Microsoft got the ball rolling with a series of takeovers back in 2018 and hasn’t really stopped since. The latest take is also significant since with an amount of 68.9 billion dollars, the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is the largest acquisition in the sector to date. And according to a recent rumor, Electronic Arts would also seek to be redeemed.
Electronic Arts would seek a takeover or a merger
According to the sources of the site Puckwhich publishes a portrait of Brian Roberts, CEO of the media group Comcast, Electronic Arts would have started serious discussions for a potential takeover.
The Electronic Arts share price is not exactly in top form since even if the action has risen sharply in recent days, EA has lost more than 10% of its value since last November and the poor performance of Battlefield 2042. It is therefore quite logical that EA should currently interest investors, especially in a context where the giants of tech, video games or media are seeking to become ever bigger.
Four sources close to Puck say Brian Roberts has approached Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson with a proposal to reshape NBCUniversal and merge with the gaming giant. As negotiations and talks lasted for several weeks, there was talk of the Roberts family taking majority control of the combined entity, although Wilson would remain in command. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, would then have occupied a different role within Comcast.
Still, none of this will happen as according to the same sources, the proposal finally fell apart over the past month due to disagreements over price and structure.
The outlet says Andrew Wilson and Electronic Arts have held talks with a number of different potential suitors, including Disney, Apple and Amazon. Several sources familiar with the matter say that EA played an active role in the resale process and that the agreement between Microsoft and Activision would have played a role in this desire to strengthen. Other sources also indicate that EA is primarily interested in a merger deal that would allow Wilson to remain CEO of the merged company.
According to the same sources, Wilson would have continued to consider a merger with Disney and as recently as last March when a “more meaningful relationship” than the licensing agreements would have been put on the table by EA. But Dinsey apparently wasn’t interested.
One thing is certain, the video game sector will continue to evolve rapidly and strongly in the coming months. Takeovers of various sizes are not over, and Microsoft has already said it’s not done yet. Recently, it was the publisher and developer Nacon who confirmed that other studios would be acquired in the coming months.
EA has some of the biggest franchises in gaming today. Examples include Battlefield, Dead Space, Plants vs. Zombies, The Sims, Titanfall, Burnout or Madden and a whole range of sports games.