Rumor: EA looking to sell or merge....per Kotaku

Thread: Rumor: EA looking to sell or merge....per Kotaku
Arkam

Arkam

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The Battlefield and FIFA maker recently pursued a merger with NBCUniversal, and also held potential acquisition talks with Disney, Apple, and other companies, according to a new report by Puck. While a deal isn't currently in the works, it doesn't sound like EA plans to give up anytime soon.
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"Several sources familiar with these talks say EA has been persistent in pursuing a sale, and has only grown more emboldened in the wake of the Microsoft-Activision deal. Others say that EA is primarily interested in a merger arrangement that would allow Wilson to remain as chief executive of the combined company."
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But it was apparently a deal with NBCUniversal that got the farthest along. According to Beyers, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts was looking to spin off the entertainment conglomerate into a separate entity with EA, with one version of the deal leaving current EA CEO Andrew Wilson in charge of the new mega-business. Negotiations eventually fell apart over price, however.
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So probably nothing to surprising to anyone, but good to get confirmation. If them and Activision do get gobbled up by either MS or Sony we are in for some wild times. But a merger with Apple, Disney or the like would be super interesting.

On the NBC/Comcast side. I know for YEARS they were trying to get some game streaming service off the ground. EA was an investor in Gaikai and had their 1.0 tech. I am guessing the real problem was faith having seen Sony tread water and then Stadia come DOA. So it would have made sense that NBC, needed to either double down or walk. Guess the walked.
 
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EA sell? Very few people have $40 billion lying around to buy E.A

If they're selling they would fork out atleast $46 billion (premium above the current market price.).

Merge is more likely.


Apple has the cash to buy it. BERK.B as well (its heavily invested in Activision stock)
 
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Microsoft will buy them once the acti deal is cleared. They're too expensive for Sony and I can't see the US Gov allowing Saudis or Tencent buy them


Edit: according to sources Comcast, Amazon, Disney and Apple are in talks for mergers with EA, with compact leading the charge.
 
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Reluctant to say it, but I suspect MS would likely be the best fit because they at least understand the market, and the price tag is likely too rich for Sony. I wouldn't have much confidence in either Apple or Amazon successfully running matters as Gaming isn't either one's forte. Disney....maybe but then Disney is terrible so......¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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EA should probably unload their properties like Square Enix. What would Microsoft do with Ultima or Wing Commander or C&C if they buy EA? They'll just keep rotting.
 
HE1NZ said:
EA should probably unload their properties like Square Enix. What would Microsoft do with Ultima or Wing Commander or C&C if they buy EA? They'll just keep rotting.
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There are more IPs out there than they have Studios to develop tbh, and an IP is only worth capitalising on if there is a belief it has potential. The truth is not everyone is worth reviving simply out of nostalgia.
 
Kadayi said:
There are more IPs out there than they have Studios to develop tbh, and an IP is only worth capitalising on if there is a belief it has potential. The truth is not everyone is worth reviving simply out of nostalgia.
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More reason to unload these IPs. I'd play Wing Commander remasters and anything C&C related.
 
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HE1NZ said:
More reason to unload these IPs. I'd play Wing Commander remasters and anything C&C related.
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The thing with Wing Commander is, you're having to come up with something that has to scale against Elite Dangerous, The Money Pit known as Star Citizen, and to a lesser extent NMS. Not saying it couldn't be done, more about how you would go about it exactly? What are the criteria you need to hit in order to not only appease old fans but also interest new players?

I just think there's a real challenge around these things.
 
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Kadayi said:
The thing with Wing Commander is, you're having to come up with something that has to scale against Elite Dangerous, The Money Pit known as Star Citizen, and to a lesser extent NMS. Not saying it couldn't be done, more about how you would go about it exactly? What are the criteria you need to hit in order to not only appease old fans but also interest new players?

I just think there's a real challenge around these things.
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Probably no need for new Wing Commander. A remaster in style of C&C would be perfect.
 
Joe T. said:
Why would anyone interested in a healthy game market want EA selling to or merging with Disney, Apple or NBC? I don't see how they'd manage the studios or their properties any better, speaking purely from a gamer's perspective.
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I cannot see Apple being legit simply because they'd want a closed market place and they don't have the hardware ecosystem in place. Disney could well be a possibility, as they could build all their Star Wars/Marvel games in-house. However at the same time. I think they quite like the licencing guarantee of income. NBC..meh.

Joe T. said:
This has to be tempting Microsoft, Amazon and Google.
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Albeit MS would be the best fit out of all 3 wouldn't be keen on MS owning EA as well as A_B and Bethesda, in the same way, I wouldn't be keen on them buying Ubisoft. Too much consolidation leads to stagnation.

Mayhap there is an argument for selling off some Studios similar to S-E tbh.
 
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Zog said:
So all these big companies wanting to sell, is the game industry in trouble?
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That both EA and Ubisoft seem to be looking for owners/partners does suggest that there could be issues in the AAA space. I think the endless delays coupled with extended development time under Covid means that cash flow is probably the principal concern.
 
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After the twitter deal falls through Elon will buy them....

Whats with all these gaming companies wanting to be bought out. Are they expecting some sort of massive gaming collapse or something?

I think they are like I don't want to deal with this woke shit anymore I'm out...
 
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I would like to see the FPS command and conquer tried again now that we have more horsepower in our machines.

A syndicate wars remaster would be ace as well
 
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I imagine game developers are being paid a whole lot more than what they were 10 or 20 years ago. Add to that the costs of doing.business these days and the constant bitching from the woke mafia while STILL selling your games at the same price you were 30 years ago. Yeah, I'm not shocked they're looking to sell. I'm also surprised that companies are able to produce as much quality content as they do.
 
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