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Microsoft Now Playing the Very Long Game With Activision
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/microsoft-now-playing-the-very-long-game-with-activision-602e55e6
Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: microsoft, activision
Microsoft announced the biggest gaming deal in history in early 2022, but the acquisition was blocked by Britain's competition regulator, which was concerned the U.S. computing giant would gain too much control of the nascent cloud gaming market. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision games like "Overwatch" and "Diablo" exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms for rival services. Instead, French gaming rival Ubisoft will acquire the cloud streaming rights for Activision's existing PC and console games, and any new games released by Activision in the next 15 years. A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. Microsoft said Ubisoft would acquire the rights through a one-off payment and a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage.
Persons: Tom Smith, there's, Gonzalo Fuentes, Alex Haffner, Fladgate, Sarah Cardell, Yadarisa, Kate Holton, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: CMA, Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft Deal, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Markets Authority, European Commission, Geradin Partners, Big Tech, Reuters, REUTERS, European Union . Competition, Federal Trade Commission, European, European Union, Sony, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York, Paris, U.S, Europe, Brussels, EU, Issy, France, British, United States, Bengaluru, London
A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, October 28, 2013. Other big technology and growth stocks also rose, with Tesla (TSLA.O) advancing 3.4% after logging its biggest one-day percentage gain since March on Monday. Macy's (M.N) jumped 4% after the department store chain beat second-quarter sales estimates, while Coty (COTY.N) slipped 2.0% after the perfume and cosmetics maker forecast annual profit below Wall Street expectations. ET, Dow e-minis were up 66 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 79 points, or 0.53%. Among other stocks, shares of Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) rose 2.8% in premarket trading after the video-conferencing platform forecast third-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates.
Persons: Carlo Allegri, Nvidia's, Russ Mould, Jerome Powell's, Lowe's Cos, Amruta Khandekar, Shinjini Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Dow, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Monday, Bell, Federal, Traders, Coty, Dow e, Zoom Video Communications, Wall, Activision, Microsoft, Ubisoft Entertainment, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Jackson
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the only regulator to block Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, in a test of its post-Brexit clout. The CMA in a statement said the revised transaction would "allow Ubisoft to commercialise these rights to other cloud gaming services providers (including to Microsoft itself)". Under the new terms, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services. The new transaction deals with streaming rights outside the European Economic Area, reflecting the fact that Brussels had already approved the deal. Ubisoft will, however, receive a non-exclusive licence for Activision's European gaming rights too, enabling the French group to also stream the rights in the EU.
Persons: Yadarisa, Kate Holton, Rashmi Aich, Sachin Ravikumar, Barbara Lewis Organizations: CMA, Activision, Ubisoft Deal, Microsoft, Ubisoft Entertainment, Britain's, Markets Authority, Ubisoft, European Union, Sony, U.S, Activision Blizzard, Economic, Activision's, Thomson Locations: Paris, British, Brussels, Bengaluru, London
Microsoft Submits Revised Activision Deal to U.K. Watchdog
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/microsoft-submits-revised-activision-deal-to-u-k-watchdog-d8923283
Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: microsoft, activision
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-submits-revised-activision-deal-to-u-k-watchdog-d8923283
Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: microsoft, activision
London CNN —Microsoft has made a major concession to UK authorities in a bid to remove the last remaining regulatory obstacle to its huge takeover of Activision Blizzard. The restructured deal, announced by the UK Competition and Markets Authority Tuesday, follows a decision by the CMA to block the acquisition on its original terms. A US federal court also said in July that it would not block the deal from closing. The transaction was valued at $69 billion at the time, making it one of the tech industry’s largest deals. Activision Blizzard is one of the world’s biggest video game developers, producing games such as “Candy Crush,” “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and “Overwatch.”
Persons: Sarah Cardell, ” Cardell, Candy, Organizations: London CNN, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, European Union, Ubisoft Entertainment, UK Competition, Markets, CMA, Ubisoft —, Economic, Ubisoft, Activision Locations: United Kingdom, Paris
Yves Guillemot, CEO and co-founder of Ubisoft, speaks at the Ubisoft Forward livestream event in Los Angeles, California, on June 12, 2023. Shares of French game maker Ubisoft popped 9% in Europe trading Tuesday after Microsoft submitted a new deal for the takeover of Activision Blizzard to try and appease wary U.K. regulators. The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority confirmed it blocked the original $69 billion deal that Microsoft first put forward in January 2022. Instead, these rights will be divested to Ubisoft before Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Ubisoft offers cloud games on services like Amazon Luna and Nvidia 's GeForce Now, which compete with Microsoft's Xbox streaming service.
Persons: Yves Guillemot, Brad Smith, Tom Clancy's, Smith, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal Organizations: Ubisoft, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Markets Authority, CMA, Activision Blizzard PC, Activision, Amazon, Nvidia Locations: Los Angeles , California, Europe, U.S
Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Aug 22 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will examine whether Microsoft's (MSFT.O) proposal to sell its non-EU cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment (UBIP.PA) in a bid to gain UK approval for its Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) bid will affect its concessions to the European Commission. "We are closely following the developments in the UK and assessing the impact this may have on the commitments accepted by the Commission," a spokesperson for the European Union executive said in an email. The EU competition enforcer cleared the deal in May after Microsoft agreed to licence popular Activision games such as "Call of Duty" to rival game streaming platforms for 10 years. Reporting by Foo Yun CheeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Foo Yun Chee Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, REUTERS, Rights, Ubisoft Entertainment, European Commission, Commission, European Union, EU, Thomson
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMicrosoft offers to sell cloud streaming rights to Activision games to Ubisoft to seal takeover with U.K. regulatorMicrosoft has submitted a new takeover proposal for Activision Blizzard to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority. Under the revised deal, Microsoft will transfer the cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision PC and console games released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft. CNBC's Arjun Kharpal reports.
Persons: CNBC's Arjun Kharpal Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, U.K, Competition, Markets Authority
Microsoft has restructured its deal to hand Activision cloud gaming rights to rival Ubisoft. Microsoft really wants to get its takeover of Activision Blizzard over the line. The tech giant has substantially restructured its deal to try and appease the UK regulator's concerns that a takeover would hurt competition in cloud gaming. The new deal involves selling Activision cloud-gaming rights for countries outside the European Economic Area to video-game publisher Ubisoft. Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January 2022, but the deal has been entangled in competition concerns ever since.
Persons: Sarah Cardell, Brad Smith Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft, Morning, Activision Blizzard, Economic Area, Cloud Gaming, European Commission, Markets Authority, CMA Locations: British
LONDON — European stock markets were higher Tuesday after posting cautious gains to start the week. The Stoxx 600 index was 0.68% higher in early trade, with all sectors higher bar oil and gas, which dipped 0.1%. Higher bond yields generally mean lower stock prices. Thompson said bond market moves reflect a pushback on expectations for substantial Federal Reserve rate cuts next year, though opinion remains divided. U.S. stock futures nudged lower after the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 snapped a four-day negative streak.
Persons: Rupert Thompson, CNBC's, Thompson Organizations: Technology, Ubisoft Entertainment, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Treasury, Kingswood Group, Nasdaq Locations: Asia, Pacific
A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, October 28, 2013. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note scaled over 15-year highs after a brief pullback, dragging equities lower. Wall Street had regained some ground on Monday due to a rally in Nvidia and other tech stocks. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) hit an all-time high of $481.87 soon after markets opened but were last down 1.5%. The S&P index recorded one new 52-week highs and 8 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 76 new lows.
Persons: Carlo Allegri, Phil Blancato, Ladenburg, Robert Pavlik, Jerome Powell, Cos, Amruta Khandekar, Shinjini Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, KeyCorp, Comerica, Dow, Nasdaq, Treasury, Asset Management, Federal, Dakota Wealth, Microsoft, Reuters Graphics, Traders, Dow Jones, Nike, Sporting, Activision, Ubisoft Entertainment, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Fairfield, Jackson
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUK Competition and Markets Authority on renewed interest in Microsoft's $69B deal for ActivisionSarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, discusses the UK's decision to take a fresh look at Microsoft's proposed deal to buy Activision Blizzard.
Persons: Activision Sarah Cardell, Microsoft's Organizations: Markets Authority, Activision, Competition, Activision Blizzard
Macy's said it expects adjusted earnings per share between $2.70 and $3.20, adding it sees comparable store sales falling between 6% and 7.5%. The company reported earnings of $4.56 per share, versus the $4.49 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. AppLovin – The marketing stock rose 1.5% to a 52-week high following a Jefferies upgrade to buy from hold. Zoom Video – Shares of the video communications platform lost about 2% even after the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter results. Aramark — The food service stock rose about 2%.
Persons: Dick's, Macy's, Lowe's, Charles Schwab —, Charles Schwab, AppLovin, Jefferies, Stephen Tusa, Emerson, AspenTech, Fabrinet, Seamus Grady, Aramark, , Alex Harring, Yun Li, Hakyung Kim, Brian Evans, Michelle Fox, Sarah Min Organizations: Dick's, Goods, Revenue, Refinitiv . Revenue, Bloomberg, American Airlines –, American Airlines, Baidu, Microsoft, Activision, Activision PC, Jefferies, Emerson, JPMorgan, Garden, Bank of America, UBS Locations: Madison
Why It Matters: The offer aims to address concerns over cloud gaming. Under the new terms, Microsoft will give Ubisoft control over licensing deals for cloud gaming services for 15 years. This is aimed at preventing Microsoft from launching titles exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, called Xbox Cloud Gaming. But Microsoft scored a major victory in May, when the European Union approved the deal. The British regulator said it would issue a decision by Oct. 18, the date that Microsoft has set as a deadline to complete its deal with Activision.
Persons: Microsoft’s, Sarah Cardell, Organizations: Markets Authority, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Cloud Gaming, Activision, Sony, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, European Union Locations: U.S
Dado Ruvic | ReutersMicrosoft on Tuesday submitted a new deal for the takeover of Activision Blizzard, offering a spate of concessions after U.K. regulators rejected its initial proposal. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years, the CMA said. Regulators previously argued that Microsoft could also take key Activision games, like Call of Duty, and make them exclusive to Xbox and other Microsoft platforms. To cross that line, Microsoft offered concessions, such as offering royalty-free licenses to cloud gaming platforms to stream Activision games, if a consumer has purchased them. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission was fighting a legal battle with Microsoft in an effort to get the Activision takeover scrapped.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brad Smith Organizations: Activision, Reuters Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Markets Authority, Microsoft, CMA, Redmond, Activision PC, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Netflix, European Union, Federal Trade Commission Locations: U.S, Europe
Audio Static in a Ford F-150
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Microsoft Offers Big Concession to Secure Activision DealMicrosoft has offered new concessions to win over U.K. regulators as it tries to close its $75 billion deal for games publisher Activision Blizzard. WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Dan Gallagher joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss what the tech giant is willing to give up and why this is a strategic long-term bet for Microsoft. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Bloomberg News
Persons: Dan Gallagher, Zoe Thomas, Michael Ciaglo Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Deal Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Bloomberg
Morning Bid: World markets bounce at last
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. The onshore yuan steadied amid supportive action by China's state banks in the swaps market, and Chinese stocks (.CSI300) perked up from the year's lows. Overall, MSCI's all-country index (.MIWD00000PUS) was on course on Tuesday for its first back-to-back daily gains of August so far. There were background concerns about the impact on U.S. banks of this latest hit to bond prices and borrowing rates. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Xi Jinping, MSCI's, Jackson, Jerome Powell's, Moody's, Thomas Barkin, Austan Goolsbee, Michelle Bowman, Cyril Ramaphosa, Christina Fincher Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, P, Activision, Ubisoft Entertainment, Microsoft, Richmond Fed, Philadelphia Fed, Richmond Federal, Chicago Fed, China's, Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: New York City, U.S, Wyoming, Jackson, China, South Africa, Asia, Johannesburg, Pretoria
Getty Images / Michael BucknerWarren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway established stakes in a trio of homebuilders last quarter: Lennar, NVR, and DR Horton. The positions were worth a combined $814 million — a small bet in the context of Berkshire's roughly $350 billion stock portfolio. Buffett's portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, were likely behind the purchases given their size. On the other hand, it exited its wagers on McKesson, Marsh & McLennan, and Vitesse Energy in the period. Buffett and his team also pared their positions in Activision Blizzard, Chevron, Celanese, General Motors, and Globe Life.
Persons: Warren Buffett Warren Buffett, Michael Buckner Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, DR, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, Buffett Organizations: Getty, Capital, Occidental Petroleum, McLennan, Vitesse Energy, Activision Blizzard, Chevron, General Motors, Globe Locations: Capital One, Marsh, Celanese
Ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker are board members. The complaints come as many experts expect an uptick in challenges to corporate diversity programs following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that prohibited race-conscious college admissions policies. “There certainly is a deep psychological effect that is putting the brakes on the forward movement of diversity in the workplace,” Rossein said. America First has also filed lawsuits accusing Target Corp and Progressive Insurance of breaching their duties to shareholders by adopting diversity programs and progressive marketing campaigns, for instance celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month. Commissioner Andrea Lucas, a Trump appointee, filed a dozen charges last year, more than any of her colleagues.
Persons: Trump, Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's Mar, Jonathan Ernst, Activision's, Kellogg, Morgan Stanley, Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Matthew Whitaker, Rick Rossein, ” Rossein, Hershey, Andrea Lucas, Lucas, Gene Hamilton, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Activision Blizzard Inc, Kellogg, U.S, Opportunity Commission, America, Starbucks Corp, McDonald's Corp, Anheuser, Busch Companies, Hershey Co, Republican, Trump, Supreme, City University of New York School of Law, Target Corp, Progressive Insurance, Activision, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Lago, Palm Beach , Florida, U.S, America, Albany , New York
Sarah E. NeedlemanSarah E. Needleman is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who writes about interactive entertainment and social media. Her coverage centers on Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and other big videogame publishers, as well as social-media companies such as Twitter, Reddit and Pinterest. In 2022, Sarah received an honorable mention with WSJ colleagues for their coverage of workplace misconduct at Activision from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, or Sabew. In her earlier years at the Journal, she covered small business and careers. Sarah graduated from Rutgers University in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Persons: Sarah E, Sarah, paginator Organizations: Wall Street, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Activision, Society for, Home News & Tribune, Princeton Packet, Rutgers University Locations: New Jersey
Dan Loeb's Third Point added new positions in key artificial intelligence beneficiaries in the second quarter, but still underperformed the broader market. As of June 30, he had a position in Amazon worth about $535 million that made the online retailer and web services provider the third-largest position in his fund. He also bought shares of Nvidia , adding up to a position worth about $212 million. Third Point was higher by just 1.1% in the second quarter, paring its loss in 2023 to 3% so far. Meanwhile, the S & P 500 was ahead 8% in the second quarter, and is higher by 16% on the year.
Persons: Dan Loeb's, Tepper, Loeb, underexposure, Tesla —, , Yun Li Organizations: SEC, Taiwan Semiconductor, Nvidia, Microsoft, Activision, Care, Meta, AMD, Google Locations: U.S
Merger arbitrage investors have been struggling this year. Play the gap Merger arbitrage can be a tricky strategy for regular investors to incorporate. Investors can buy into the following funds for exposure to merger arbitrage: The Arbitrage Fund (ARBNX) The Merger Fund (MERIX) The NexPoint Merger Arbitrage fund (HMEAX) The First Trust Merger Arbitrage ETF (MARB) The IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA) To be sure, many of these funds charge a hefty fee. Kroger and Albertsons , the two largest biggest grocers by revenue, just notched a regulatory win after a judge dismissed a consumer lawsuit challenging the $25 billion merger. Tower Semiconductor is trading for around $34 a share such that the arbitrage spread stands at more than 50%.
Persons: Activision Blizzard, Andrew Beer, Dealmaking, John Orrico, Salvatore Bruno, VMware's, Black Knight, it's Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Activision, FTC, Microsoft, Hedge Fund Research, Beta Investments, Global, Horizon Therapeutics, Activision Blizzard, Broadcom, VMware, Intercontinental Exchange, Black, CNBC, Kroger, Albertsons, Intel, Semiconductor Locations: Island, Water Island, British, Israel
A worker holds a Playstation 5 at a Best Buy store during Black Friday sales in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 25, 2022. REUTERS/Jim VondruskaAug 8 (Reuters) - Global video-games market would return to growth in 2023 on the back of strong sales of consoles such as Sony's Playstation 5, according to gaming market research firm Newzoo. Newzoo said it expects industry revenue to rise 2.6% to $187.7 billion in 2023, driven by a 7.4% rise in console sales in the year. Market research firm Circana said U.S. consumer spending on video-game hardware was up by 23% in the first half of 2023. Reporting by Akshita Toshniwal and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Jim Vondruska, Newzoo, Tom Wijman, Circana, Akshita Toshniwal, Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Black, REUTERS, Gaming, PlayStation, Sony, Activision, Electronic Arts, EA Sports FC, Newzoo, Apple, Google, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Bengaluru
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