Reportedly, Amazon is purchasing EA. CNBC’s David Faber has now indicated that he has spoken to some people “who would actually know if something was going on, and they say, there’s nothing going on,” and that these people have confirmed that there is nothing going on.
What we truly need right now is for either Amazon or EA to provide us with an official statement informing us whether or not something is happening.
The Authentic Tale:
At some point today, it is expected that Amazon will make an announcement on the completion of its purchase of Electronic Arts (EA), a company that publishes and develops video games.
According to USA Today (Which opens in a new window), the announcement will be made in the form of Amazon stating that it has put in an official offer to purchase the company. It follows reports that were released back in May that EA was actively pursuing a sale or merger, with Apple, Amazon, Comcast-NBCUniversal, and Disney all thought to be interested in acquiring the company. (Opens in a new window)
We were all under the impression that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would be the most significant transaction in the gaming industry in 2018. However, even though I find it hard to believe that Amazon would be willing to pay anywhere near $68.7 billion for Electronic Arts, it is certain that the company’s shareholders will require billions of dollars in order to take the offer seriously.
Amazon’s aspirations to get into the game industry would be greatly aided by the acquisition of full control of Electronic Arts (EA). EA is in charge of a large number of well-known video game titles spanning a wide variety of categories, such as Apex Legends, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, The Sims, SimCity, and Mass Effect.
We also can’t forget that EA bought Codemasters the year before, giving it control of various racing game series such as Formula 1, DIRT, DiRT Rally, GRID, and Project CARS. This is an important fact that we can’t overlook.
Expect a situation quite similar to the one that Microsoft is now in with Activision Blizzard if the acquisition is finalized today. The transaction is going to need to be okayed by various authorities all around the world, which can take a number of months of hard work and patient waiting.
