News business EA would try to be bought by Disney, Apple or Amazon
Published on 05/21/2022 at 11:00
The race for buyouts is well and truly launched in the video game industry. Amid the Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard, Sony-Bungie and Take-Two-Zynga acquisitions, other major players are also looking to buy or be bought out. This would be the case of Electronic Arts, which would like to strengthen quickly.
Disney, Apple or Amazon to buy EA
Electronic Arts is making the headlines in gaming news right now. After the announcement of the end of the partnership between the publisher and FIFA for its flagship football simulationthe publisher is back in the spotlight once once more with a new report provided by Puck and supported by my box. According to these two sources, the American giant would seek to be redeemed following having missed an opportunity to merge with NBCUniversal. In any case, this is reported by Dylan Beyers, journalist at Puck.
In recent years, as media companies have taken more interest in the video game industry and its rapid growth, Andrew Wilson (CEO of Electronic Arts) and Electronic Arts have held several conversations with various potential buyers, including Disney, Apple and Amazon (…). Several sources with knowledge of these conversations say that Electronic Arts has been aggressively seeking a takeover, and has only been more convinced by its move following the deal between Microsoft and Activision. Other sources claim that EA would be primarily interested in a merger that would allow Wilson to retain his position as CEO at this new company.
Dylan Beyers continues and explains that the most concrete agreement concerned the merger between NBCUniversal and EA. According to the journalist, Brian Roberts, current CEO of Comcast, a group of which NBCUniversal is the subsidiary, wanted a merger between the two companies in order to create a new entity, with Andrew Wilson at its head. But in the end, the negotiations were unsuccessful.
Redeem rather than be redeemed?
EA, like many of its competitors, has decided in recent years to pursue sustainable growth by acquiring several studios for nearly $5 billion. A desire once once more affirmed by Andrew Wilson during a meeting between shareholders last February. Nevertheless, major takeovers such as those of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, Bungie by Sony and Zynga by Take-Two now lead to a form of imbalance between the various players, who would then seek to gain influence quickly, as Puck and Kotaku. This haste is expressed in particular by the actions of Andrew Wilson, who would have sought to secure a takeover of EA by Disney last March.
This information makes more sense when you know that the licensing agreement between the publisher and the giant will soon come to an end. Agreement which notably concerns Star Wars games. As Kotaku explains, EA will use the license for the duration of the sequel. Fallen Order until 2023 before passing the torch to studios like Quantic Dream and Ubisoft, whose licensed titles have already been announced.
For their part, EA did not wish to react to these rumors. Kotaku contacted the publisher, who provided a rather vague response:
We do not comment on rumors and speculation regarding takeovers and mergers. We are proud to operate from a position of strength and growth, with a catalog of excellent games, built around strong licenses, made by incredibly talented teams and with a network of more than half a billion players. We see a bright future on the horizon. – John Reseburg, spokesperson for Electronic Arts.
