CNBC: Amazon Won’t Takeover Bid for Electronic Arts – Update 2
CNBC debunks rumors Amazon plans to make a takeover bid for Electronic Arts on Friday. According to USA Today sources, Amazon would make such an offer for the gaming giant. Rumors of EA’s desire to be acquired have been around for some time.
Update, 8.10 pm: According to sources of American news medium CNBC, Amazon would not make an offer for Electronic Arts. However, the company has not yet issued an official response.
Update 2, 10.17 pm: USA Today has since edited its original article and removed references to the takeover rumours. The medium writes that GLHF, a content partner of the USA Today’s gaming arm, has published an article on the website that does not meet its “editorial standards regarding the use of anonymous and unverified sources.” The medium also cites the message from CNBC, which refutes the takeover rumors.
Report USA Today sources Amazon announced on Friday, August 26 that it has made an offer for the gaming giant. The acquisition does not seem final yet. That’s not so illogical either; EA is a publicly traded company, so such big decisions about the fate of such a company don’t happen without at least the big shareholders’ agreement.
There have been reports for some time that EA is looking for a takeover. Earlier this year, American journalist Dylan Byers of Puck wrote that EA had tried to sell itself to the American media company NBCUniversal. It almost succeeded, but negotiations are said to have stalled due to disagreements about ‘price and structure’. EA also allegedly held talks with Apple, Disney and Amazon, Byers wrote at the time. If this reporting is correct, then negotiations with the latter party have made some more progress.
Acquisitions are a trend in the gaming industry. Recently, for example, Microsoft acquired Bethesda and it is still in the process of acquiring Activision. Sony buys Bungie and the Embracer Group has acquired virtually all of Square Enix’s western franchises and studios. These takeovers involve millions, if not billions of euros.
Amazon has been trying to break through in the gaming sector for some time. The company previously founded Amazon Game Studios and is working there on titles such as the mmo game New World, released last year. The company is also working on its own cloud streaming service, Luna. With EA, the company would get its hands on a major player in the game industry in one fell swoop. Well-known Electronic Arts games and franchises include Battlefield, Apex Legends, Dead Space, Mass Effect, The Sims, FIFA, Star Wars Jedi, Dragon Age, and Mirror’s Edge.