(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. is spending $69 billion on the biggest cash-funded takeover since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with its purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc.
The U.S. technology giant is paying up for Activision, owner of the “Call of Duty” franchise, after video-game makers got a boost during extended Covid-19 lockdowns. There hasn’t been an all-cash acquisition this big since energy giant Saudi Aramco took control of chemical producer Sabic in a $69 billion deal announced in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
It’s been a busy start to the dealmaking year, with transaction volumes already up 41% over the same period in 2021 to hit $218 billion. The Activision purchase ranks as Microsoft’s biggest ever acquisition, surpassing its $26 billion takeover of professional social network LinkedIn Corp., announced in 2016.
Buying Activision will eat away at a big chunk of Microsoft’s cash pile, which stood at $131 billion at the end of September, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The transaction will create the world’s third-biggest video game company and extend Microsoft’s capabilities in the metaverse, a nascent category encompassing immersive digital worlds that’s seen as the next big thing in computing.
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