After the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft is close to a deal to buy Activision Blizzard, shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. ($ATVI) jumped about 37% in pre-market trade Tuesday.
Gaming stocks have risen on the announcement, while Microsoft‘s ($MSFT) stock has declined marginally. Microsoft’s stock is currently trading at $303, down 2%.
As of 08:18 a.m. ET, ATVI stocks were trading at $90.00, gained $24.61 or 37.64 percent from their previous close. With 13,485,723 traded shares in 24 hours, it has a market valuation of $50.93 billion. The stock closed at $65.39 on Friday.
TO bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone across every device, Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard. Microsoft will acquire $ATVI in an all-cash transaction worth $68.7 billion for $95.00 per share.
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms. Were investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
When the deal is completed, Microsoft will overtake Tencent and Sony as the worlds third-largest gaming firm by revenue. In addition to worldwide eSports activities through Major League Gaming, the projected acquisition includes legendary franchises from Activision, Blizzard, and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty,” and “Candy Crush.” The corporation employs almost 10,000 people in studios all over the world.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in his position, according to Microsoft. Kotick will report to Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the purchase is completed.
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” Spencer said in a statement. “Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
ATVI trading was halted due to the acquisition and now it has been resumed.
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