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☆ Amazon and Roomba maker call off acquisition deal, iRobot lays off staff instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Amazon and iRobot, the maker of the popular Roomba vacuum, mutually called off their estimated $1.7 billion acquisition deal Monday, citing numerous regulatory hurdles. Amazon (AMZN), which was up about 0.5% in noon trading, will pay iRobot a previously agreed-upon $94 million cancellation fee. IRobot said the restructuring plan, impacting around 350 employees, is intended to save the company up to $150 million. In November, the European Commission said the deal could hamper competition in the robot vacuum sector. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Commission planned to block the deal.

Persons: iRobot, Colin Angle, Glen Weinstein, IRobot, “, ” Andrew Miller, iRobot’s, ” David Zapolsky, Lina Khan, ”, Meta Organizations: CNN, European, Federal Trade, European Union, European Commission, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Commission, Amazon . Tech, Adobe, EU, UK, Nvidia, UK’s Competition, Markets Authority, Activision Blizzard, CMA Locations: Europe

☆ Microsoft and Activision extend their deal deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —Microsoft and Activision have mutually agreed to extend their merger deadline by three months in the face of ongoing negotiations with the UK government that could allow the $69 billion acquisition to close, the two companies announced on Wednesday. The announcement highlights the commitment by both companies to complete the deal after back-to-back court defeats for US regulators who had challenged the merger. The new contractual deadline for consummating the deal will be October 18, the companies said. If the deal fails to close by Sept. 15, the breakup fee could increase to $4.5 billion, the filing said. We’re confident in our next steps and that our deal will quickly close.”In a memo to employees, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick thanked staff for their patience.

Persons: ” Brad Smith, We’re, Bobby Kotick, “, ” Kotick, Phil Spencer, ” Spencer Organizations: Washington CNN, Microsoft, Activision, Securities and Exchange Commission, Markets Authority, CMA, Activision Blizzard, ” Locations: U.S, United States

☆ Microsoft’s blockbuster deal to buy Activision is in jeopardy. Here’s what could happen next
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

UK officials said Wednesday they will block the company’s $69 billion deal to acquire video game giant Activision-Blizzard. It could also complicate Microsoft’s future in the gaming industry and severely upend Activision, which was in the throes of an internal crisis in the months leading up to the deal. By buying Activision, Microsoft would become the third-largest video game publisher in the world after Tencent and Sony. (The UK dropped its concerns about the console market in March, while the European Union reportedly does not oppose the deal.) In a memo Wednesday to employees, Kotick attempted to strike an optimistic note, whatever the outcome of the deal may be.

☆ UK competition regulator warns Microsoft’s Activision deal could harm millions of gamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard could harm competition by letting Microsoft restrict Activision’s video games to proprietary platforms such as Xbox, UK officials said Wednesday, in the latest challenge to the tech giant’s blockbuster acquisition. The UK’s competition regulator said the proposed deal, which would make Microsoft (MSFT) the world’s third-largest video game publisher, could hurt tens of millions of gamers in the country by leading to higher prices or fewer choices. The provisional finding by the UK Competition and Markets Authority is another sign of growing opposition to the deal by antitrust regulators worldwide. In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the acquisition over similar claims, and the European Union is also evaluating the deal. Cloud gaming services grant players access to video games without the need for downloading the games to a local PC or console.

☆ Sainsbury’s latest bid chatter looks overblown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) is in the crosshairs of discount shoppers. Although the news drove Sainsbury’s shares up 5%, a bid looks unlikely. Its 530 million pounds of EBITDA in 2022 was less than a quarter of Sainsbury’s, implying any deal would be a stretch. And Bestway would have to win over the Qataris and Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky who together own nearly a quarter of Sainsbury’s. Before Friday’s share bump, Sainsbury’s traded at around 5.5 times its forward EBITDA compared to larger rival Tesco (TSCO.L) which trades on 6.5 times.

☆ An antitrust battle over GIFs could be a wake-up call for Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But a long-running legal battle over who can control access to them, culminating this week in a rare defeat for Meta (META), the parent of Facebook, could have major ramifications for Big Tech regulation. On Tuesday, UK regulators forced Meta to unwind its 2020 purchase of Giphy, one of the largest searchable internet libraries of GIFs. “The Citadel may have been breached,” said Joel Mitnick, an antitrust attorney at the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The company said this week that it will continue to explore acquisitions despite the UK ruling. And US courts don’t typically take foreign antitrust rulings into account; their job is to interpret US law.

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