Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?

  • Yes, will be approved without changes.

    Votes: 221 24.9%

  • Yes, will be approved but with structural changes to ABK.

    Votes: 102 11.5%

  • Yes, will be approved but only with behavioral concessions.

    Votes: 262 29.6%

  • No, will not be approved.

    Votes: 301 34.0%
  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
Status
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Sanepar said:
Shareholders will haver their money. They don't care. CMA problem will be on MS lap.

Imagine whole world approves and only CMA not. They will have a big pressure to let it go. If they make divest mandatory 1 year later MS will take this to trials again and will be on this for a long time with them operating ABK.
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I'm talking about MS shareholders. I don't think they voted on the deal but I imagine they would have a thing or two to say about a change like that.
 
Ass of Can Whooping said:
Doesn't even make sense. What is achieved by their being an independent ABK in the UK?
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Oh, I don't think it will happen, but it's offered as a remedy to say to a regulator 'look, we've separated our activity in the UK, so if you do need us to divest, it's far easier for us to do'. With divestment being UK ABK sold off and no longer part of MS or Gamepass.

As I say, not going to happen and I don't even think it would be accepted as a remedy.
 
thicc_girls_are_teh_best said:
Why, though? Couldn't Microsoft work out a deal for partial ownership of the divested entity? They would still be able to claim part of the revenue stream as their own. They could also set up an arrangement for publishing rights on Xbox platforms, which would give them full marketing rights to those versions of the game. They could also get access rights to the content in Game Pass, though maybe at a higher price for Day 1, and retain all the MTX/DLC revenue from the game on their platforms (Xbox and Game Pass). Meanwhile, if say the divestment only affected the Activision side, or even Activision & Blizzard, King would (should) be exempt from that, and hasn't Microsoft repeatedly said this deal is mainly about mobile?
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If MS did that, it would be basic circumvention of a regulatory order and they'd just get fined.
 
StratosGK said:
Why do so many people say stuff like "Activision needs this"? No they don't.
They are selling because od the scandal which people have already forgotten and they are making crazy money from sales.
Microsoft is the only one who needs this, and the GP lovers.
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Yep. It seems ABK's stock has mostly recovered, and Kotick's having a blast a 4th of July White Party events with rappers, models, influencers and actors & actresses. Lulu has a new fanbase with more than a few thirsty middle-aged men & pretend-lawyers. All seems good for them.

Microsoft are the ones who seem to be desperate for this deal. It kind of reminds me of when Sega tried merging with Bandai back in the day; Bandai took a hit at the time but they eventually recovered, it was Sega who needed Bandai a lot more than the other way around.

Now here we are 25+ years later with a strikingly similar situation but with two different companies 🤔

Ogbert said:
If MS did that, it would be basic circumvention of a regulatory order and they'd just get fined.
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Oh I meant that in terms of if MS could get clearance or some agreement working with the CMA for such terms in case of a divestment. I get what you're saying though; I should've added that the idea would be one with the CMA's consent.

Otherwise yeah, it's a complete sidestep of the type of divestment that'd normally be required :/
 
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Evil Calvin said:
Well I guess MS now has a lot of cash to go ahead and sign an exclusivity deal with Activision. No COD on PS5 I guess (or other games maybe)
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This will only prove that they intended to make Call of Duty exclusive after the merger closed.

And it will be unlikely they will use that money to make Call of Duty exclusive. They'll lose billions just to make a deal, and this is on top of the fact that they have to give 3 billion dollars to ABK.
 
StratosGK said:
Why do so many people say stuff like "Activision needs this"? No they don't.
They are selling because od the scandal which people have already forgotten and they are making crazy money from sales.
Microsoft is the only one who needs this, and the GP lovers.
Click to expand...

Yes I also saw a narrative going around where releasing COD every single year is untenable for them. That was another reason they needed to sell. Apparently making the #1 selling game every single year is impossible for them to keep doing. Yet they've been doing it.
 
What happens to the $12B in cash ABK has in the bank if the deal closes? Does that go straight to MS as part of the assets?
 
DForce said:
And it will be unlikely they will use that money to make Call of Duty exclusive. They'll lose billions just to make a deal, and this is on top of the fact that they have to give 3 billion dollars to ABK.
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The amount MS would need to pay for COD exclusivity really just wouldn't be worth it ultimately.
 
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ChorizoPicozo said:
XMThpBr.jpg

people are desperate AF.
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The are straight-up stalking Judge Corley.

Look Spying GIF by Un si grand soleil
 
Kilau said:
What happens to the $12B in cash ABK has in the bank if the deal closes? Does that go straight to MS as part of the assets?
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Yes, that cash will be Microsoft's. Cash is netted against debt of the target company during the purchase price valuation analysis.
 
MidGenRefresh said:
No, thanks. OpenMW can be played on any potato PC / Mac device and offers vastly superior experience. You have to be some kind of Xbox freak to subject yourself to playing Morrowind there.

openmw.org

OpenMW

OpenMW is an open-source open-world RPG game engine that supports playing Morrowind.
openmw.org openmw.org
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Someone enjoying something you do not makes them a freak......ok. Are the insults really necessary? Someone choosing a convenient means of playing this game isn't really some sort of unbelievable concept.
 
Kilau said:
So I guess MS can view that cash as coming off the purchase price. $12B less net or below $80 a share.
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Well there is a pre-determined working capital amount agreed by both parties in M&A deal. Working Capital = current assets - current liabilities. Cash is a current asset. So if working capital is above the agreed upon amount on the date of deal closure, the purchase price effectively increases by that amount (Activision benefit), if it goes below, then purchase price is lessened by that amount (Microsoft). This ensures the purchase price doesn't swing wildly from agreement on purchase date. Without WC adjustment, a target/seller company could drain funds on management bonuses, etc. prior to deal close at the expense of the purchaser.
 
MarkMe2525 said:
Someone enjoying something you do not makes them a freak......ok. Are the insults really necessary? Someone choosing a convenient means of playing this game isn't really some sort of unbelievable concept.
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Ah yes, the worse of insults. Xbox freak. Give me a break.

OpenMW is so inconvenient that tutorial I've used to set it up on my MacBook Pro M1 is 5 minutes long. :messenger_grinning_sweat:

 
ChiefDada said:
Well there is a pre-determined working capital amount agreed by both parties in M&A deal. Working Capital = current assets - current liabilities. Cash is a current asset. So if working capital is above the agreed upon amount on the date of deal closure, the purchase price effectively increases by that amount (Activision benefit), if it goes below, then purchase price is lessened by that amount (Microsoft). This ensures the purchase price doesn't swing wildly from agreement on purchase date. Without WC adjustment, a target/seller company could drain funds on management bonuses, etc. prior to deal close at the expense of the purchaser.
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Ah ok, that is accounted for. Makes sense especially in a deal this big and with a protracted closing.
 
RCU005 said:
Of course it is! Otherwise how in the hell does Xbox make 70 billion in order to make this purchase? They are using 98% of MS money.

If they only used Xbox money, they wouldn't even be able to buy an indie startup.
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Microsoft is buying ABK, not Xbox.

If it's not a capital investment then Xbox is stuck with their own budget to pay for things like marketing deals.
 
Ar¢tos said:
Then why is a certain group of consumers being extremely defensive of this deal if they know that the end goal is not to satisfy them?
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GamePass

They want to be able to play every game out there by paying the price of 2-3 games per year.
A number of them also believes quality will stay the same, subscription price will stay the same and Game Pass makes sense for Microsoft even if competition is out of the picture.

Believe it or not, there are people who want to play Diablo IV but are waiting for the acquisition so they can play it through game pass.
 
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StratosGK said:
GamePass

They want to be able to play every game out there by paying the price of 2-3 games per year.
A number of them also believes quality will stay the same, subscription price will stay the same and Game Pass makes sense for Microsoft even if competition is out of the picture.

Believe it or not, there are people who want to play Diablo IV but are waiting for the acquisition so they can play it through game pass.
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I can't understand that mindset. The wait till gamepass mindset. I can understand if you're on super tight budget but I kind of doubt most people who can buy consoles, controllers, 4k tv's etc are really that strapped. I want to play the games I want to play. When I want to play them. That freedom is miles better to me than waiting for something that may never happen. If your super budget conscious just wait a bit. Most games are 20 percent off after a month and 50 percent of after 3 or 4 months it seems.
 
OmegaSupreme said:
I can't understand that mindset. The wait till gamepass mindset. I can understand if you're on super tight budget but I kind of doubt most people who can buy consoles, controllers, 4k tv's etc are really that strapped. I want to play the games I want to play. When I want to play them. That freedom is miles better to me than waiting for something that may never happen. If your super budget conscious just wait a bit. Most games are 20 percent off after a month and 50 percent of after 3 or 4 months it seems.
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And at the same token, you can wait for sales without a perpetual sub and save even more money. 🤷‍♀️
 
MidGenRefresh said:
Ah yes, the worse of insults. Xbox freak. Give me a break.

OpenMW is so inconvenient that tutorial I've used to set it up on my MacBook Pro M1 is 5 minutes long. :messenger_grinning_sweat:

Click to expand...

Regardless of the perceived harshness of the specific term, it is intended as some sort of slight, and unnecessary. I promise you it doesn't paint you in any positive light.

Again, you linked some tutorial to set up the game in an optimal state. In the case of a player playing on consoles, all they have to do is press a single button and it launches. It is convenient, and many people don't need the "best" experience to enjoy the game.
 
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RCU005 said:
Of course it is! Otherwise how in the hell does Xbox make 70 billion in order to make this purchase? They are using 98% of MS money.

If they only used Xbox money, they wouldn't even be able to buy an indie startup.
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Fanboy much lately? Jesus Christ folks don't make it this obvious.
 
Unknown Soldier said:
Imagine thinking Sony can afford to just blow $70 billion on an acquisition like it's pocket change

Only like 5 companies on Earth can do an acquisition like this and Sony is like #176 on that list
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It wouldn't be blowing money as Sony would be acquiring an asset that has value. When someone buys a house or business, they aren't blowing money. Now there are cases where a property or business is overvalued, which could in turn lead to a loss of return. The job of the investor is to accurately predict an assets future potential return.
 
MarkMe2525 said:
Again, you linked some tutorial to set up the game in an optimal state. In the case of a player playing on consoles, all they have to do is press a single button and it launches. It is convenient, and many people don't need the "best" experience to enjoy the game.
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Sucks to be them!
 
Evil Calvin said:
Well I guess MS now has a lot of cash to go ahead and sign an exclusivity deal with Activision. No COD on PS5 I guess (or other games maybe)
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Kotick has already got another PlayStation deal lined up if this falls through. Jim Ryan testified to that effect.

You wanna be associated with the biggest platform that drives your revenue.
 
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