Wall Street bets against Microsoft acquisition

[Atualização: 28/04, às 13h52] Shareholders of Activision Blizzard approved, in the early afternoon of this Thursday (28), the acquisition of the publisher by Microsoft, according to Businesswire. According to the portal, 98% of the committee voted in favor of the transaction.

More than 98% of the shares voted at the Special Meeting were voted in favor of the proposed transaction with Microsoft.

End of update.

[Original] The year started off quite busy for the gaming industry. In January, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, with the deal expected to close in June 2023. The transaction will be voted on by shareholders this Thursday (28), but Wall Street is betting against this big deal. movement.

According to a Bloomberg report, the publisher’s shares are trading 25% below Microsoft’s shares (which cost $95 each). Apparently, this can discourage potential investors. Journalist Jason Schreier shared an overview of the situation on his personal Twitter.

Activision shares have been hovering around $76. Anyone who buys now will receive $95/share if the Microsoft deal is approved. That’s quite a return, with a discrepancy suggesting that the market believes the deal will fail.

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) April 28, 2022

first tweet — Will the Activision/Microsoft deal be approved? Today [28], Activision shareholders will vote on the acquisition. It will then face a newly formed FTC (Federal Trade Commission).

With the publisher’s stock trading 25% below Microsoft’s offer, Wall Street certainly believes the deal will fail.

second tweet — Activision shares are priced at around $76. Buyers now will get $95 a share if Microsoft’s deal is approved. That’s a big return, with one discrepancy suggesting that the market believes the deal could fail.

The vehicle also points out that the speech of “Biden’s antitrust authorities” (President of the United States) would disrupt “one of the biggest mergers in US history”. For those who don’t know, “antitrust” is, in short, a policy against the formation of monopolies.

Interviewed by the portal, Matt Perault, from the agency “New Street Research”, explains that the agreement to acquire Activision “may be blocked or subject to delays, even if it prevails”. In addition, the acquisition will need to pass the approval of other governments, including the European Union and China.

Activision does not plan to remove games from PlayStation after acquisition

Much was speculated about what would happen to games published by Activision on PlayStation platforms. In an FAQ, the publisher explained that there may be some impact on active deals and partnerships, but titles already released will not be removed. Know more!