Electronic Arts, publisher of video games such as FIFA and Battlefield, would have tried to agree with companies such as Walt Disney, Apple and Amazon for a merger or to be bought, as reported by Puck. None of the negotiations would have been successful, according to the report based on anonymous sources aware of the discussions.
Negotiations have been sparse in recent years, although the maxi-deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King, publisher of World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, for 68.7 billion dollars would have galvanized the management of Electronic Arts, which has become more aggressive in seeking an agreement with another company.
For example, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson would have contacted Disney last March looking for what he has been called. “a closer relationship“compared to simply licensing brands like Star Wars, which Electronic Arts has used for video games such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) and Star Wars: Battlefront (2015). It is unclear whether Electronic Arts was trying to merge with Disney or be bought.
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One path discussed, but not completed, was to separate ESPN, the sports content network, from Disney and to merge it with Electronic Arts, which also produces sports video game series related to the NFL, the American football league, and MLB, the american baseball league. Disney, in particular, eventually refused to continue negotiations because the company wants to focus resources on offerings like Disney +.
One discussion that came at an advanced stage before being closed without any conclusions was the one conducted with NBCUniversal. Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, was interested in acquiring Electronic Arts to make a big splash in the video game industry.
In addition to sports and licensed Star Wars video games, Electronic Arts also bought mobile development houses such as Glu Mobile and Playdemic in 2021 for a total of $ 3.6 billion.
The transaction was under discussion for several weeks: Roberts would have the majority of control of the merged company while Wilson would continue to be CEO.
However, the two companies did not find an agreement on the price and structure of the new company. In this regard, a spokesperson for Electronic Arts said the company does not comment “rumors and speculations regarding mergers and acquisitions“, adding that”We are proud to be able to operate from a solid and growing position, with a portfolio of fantastic games, built around powerful intellectual properties, made by highly talented teams, and a network of over half a million players. We have a bright future ahead of us“.
In recent months, the videogame sector has seen several financial consolidation transactions. In addition to the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King, in January Take-Two (publisher of GTA) acquired Zynga (creator of FarmVille) for over $ 12 billion and a few weeks later Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Bungie. , creator of Destiny and, before that, Halo. Finally, the Swedish group Embracer acquired Eidos, Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix Montreal from Square-Enix for $ 300 million.
