Η αγορά του gaming είναι μια από τις μεγαλύτερες και πιο προσοδοφόρες του κόσμου.
Αφού εξέτασε τις λεπτομέρειες σχετικά με την προγραμματισμένη εξαγορά της Activision Blizzard King από τη Microsoft για 68,7 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια που ανακοινώθηκε τον Ιανουάριο του 2022, η Ομοσπονδιακή Επιτροπή Εμπορίου (FTC) υπέβαλε επίσημη καταγγελία για να μπλοκάρει τη συγχώνευση. Σε επίσημη αναφορά, η FTC ισχυρίζεται ότι «επιδιώκει να εμποδίσει τη Microsoft να αποκτήσει τον έλεγχο ενός κορυφαίου ανεξάρτητου στούντιο βιντεοπαιχνιδιών και να χρησιμοποιήσει αυτή την εξαγορά για να βλάψει τον ανταγωνισμό σε πολλές δυναμικές και ταχέως αναπτυσσόμενες αγορές παιχνιδιών». Ο αντιπρόεδρος της Microsoft, Μπραντ Σμιθ, εξέδωσε μια ανακοίνωση σχετικά με την απόφαση, λέγοντας ότι η εταιρεία δεν θα υποχωρήσει και θα υποβάλει την υπόθεσή της στο δικαστήριο. Εάν η αγωγή της FTC είναι επιτυχής, είναι απίθανο ο κόσμος των βιντεοπαιχνιδιών να δει μια τόσο μεγάλη εξαγορά σύντομα.
Με αφορμή το αβέβαιο μέλλον της συμφωνίας μεταξύ της Activision Blizzard King και της Microsoft, ας ρίξουμε μια ματιά στις μεγαλύτερες εξαγορές όλων των εποχών στην ιστορία του gaming.
epa02835780 (FILE) A file picture dated 06 January 2010 shows the Microsoft booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Microsoft reported record fourth-quarter revenue of 17.37 billion dollars, an 8-per-cent increase over the year-ago period, on 21 July 2011. Microsoft gave the main credit for its impressive performance to its long-time cash cow, Microsoft Office, a suite of productivity software that has come under pressure from Google's online productivity tools. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT *** Local Caption *** 00000401981661
Photo: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Εξαγορά: Mojang
Ποσό: 2.5 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2014
7. Sony Interactive
epa08983301 Exterior view of the headquarters of Sony Corp. in Tokyo, Japan, 03 February 2021. Sony will announce its 2020 Q3 results, as well as results from April to December 2020, on 03 February 2021. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA
Photo: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Εξαγορά: Bungie
Ποσό: 3.6 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2022
6. ByteDance
View of the new logo of ByteDance at the headquarters of Beijing Bytedance Technology Co, owner of Chinese personalized news aggregator Jinri Toutiao and short video platform TikTok, in Beijing, China, 6 August 2018.
Beijing Bytedance Technology Co, owner of China's leading news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, aims to raise about $3 billion in its latest funding round that would see its valuation soar to as high as $75 billion, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The fundraising comes as the six-year-old firm is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong next year and has been in talks with investment banks for a multi-billion-dollar listing, two of the sources said. How successful Bytedance's fundraising is will be an indicator of broader appetite for Chinese investments amid heightened Sino-U.S. trade tensions and Beijingís debt crackdown that are slowing the Chinese economy and aggravating tight market liquidity. Fast-growing Bytedance runs China's popular news feed Jinri Toutiao and short video platform TikTok, which was also the world's most downloaded app in the first quarter. Founded by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming in 2012, Bytedance is targeting a valuation of between $70 billion and $75 billion in the latest fundraising, said one of the people.
Photo: AFP
Εξαγορά: Moonton
Ποσό: 4.0 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2021
5. Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard logo displayed on a laptop screen and a gamepad are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on September 21, 2021. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto) (Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
Photo: AFP
Εξαγορά: King
Ποσό: 5.9 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2015
4. Microsoft
(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 5, 2018 the logo of French headquarters of American multinational technology company Microsoft, is pictured in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, a Paris suburb. - Software giant Microsoft will let employees work from home permanently if they choose to, US media reported on October 9, 2020, becoming the latest employer to expand work-from-home provisions prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP)
Photo: AFP
Εξαγορά: ZeniMax Media
Ποσό: 7.5 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2020
3. Tencent
epa08921399 (FILE) - A sign hangs outside the headquarters of Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media giant WeChat, in Beijing, China, 18 August 2020 (reissued 06 January 2021). On 05 January 2021 US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese-connected apps, including Alipay owned by Ant Group Co and other apps owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. EPA/WU HONG
Photo: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Εξαγορά: Supercell
Ποσό: 8.6 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2016
2. Take-Two Interactive
The logo of the video game holding Take-Two Interactive is seen on a screen of a phone next to a red illustration of world and financial markets in Frankfurt, Germany, on April 14, 2020. It is one of the companies that might gain most from the lockdown. (Photo Illustration by Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto) (Photo by Alexander Pohl / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
Photo: AFP
Εξαγορά: Zynga
Ποσό: 12.7 δισ. δολάρια
Έτος: 2022
1. Microsoft
epa07942258 (FILE) - The Microsoft Windows logo at the COMPUTEX, the largest computer show in Asia, in Taipei, Taiwan, 31 May 2016 (reissued 23 October 2019). Microsoft is to release their fiscal year 2020 first quarter earnings on 23 October 2019. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO *** Local Caption *** 52790591
Photo: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ