Rumor mill: The internet was rife with rumors earlier today claiming Amazon is about to purchase EA. It sent Electronic Arts' stock price soaring, but the allegations have since been disputed by CNBC's stock market team. However, some believe Amazon will make an announcement, just not today.
Rumors that EA is seeking a buyer have been circulating on and off for a decade now. Long before it paid $7.5 billion for ZeniMax and $68.7 billion for Activision Blizzard, Microsoft was put forward as a potential buyer. There were also claims that Sony would respond to the latter acquisition by purchasing EA, but it eventually chose Bungie for $3.6 billion.
USA Today was one of the first to report Amazon's alleged imminent purchase of EA, citing GLHF, a Swedish video game industry website, as a source. What's interesting is that we previously heard EA was trying to sell itself to a streaming giant and had already been in talks with Amazon, Apple, and Disney.
But CNBC's David Faber says that Amazon is not acquiring EA—not today, at least. "No, this is not going to happen today. Unless the people who have been involved [in acquisition talks] previously have no idea."
Amazon is not going to make a bid for Electronic Arts, sources tell CNBC's @DavidFaber. Shares of $EA surged earlier on a report citing a "rumor." pic.twitter.com/k7wk0Fy7xv
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 26, 2022
Rumors that it was about to be acquired saw EA's share price jump around 15%. It's falling slightly at the time of writing but remains at $133, up from a high of $127 yesterday.
Given the consolidation of so many massive developers and publishers within the video games industry over the last year and the way EA has searched for buyers for so long, it's understandable how the rumors have been so readily believed.
GLHF, a Swedish media company that publishes on USA Today, reported this morning that Amazon is set to buy EA and will announce the news today.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 26, 2022
CNBC anchor David Faber scoffed at the report on live TV, mocking GLHF and calling the story false.
Quite a Friday so far!
Neither Amazon nor EA has commented on the reports. If the acquisition does take place, expect the price to be up there with some of the biggest in recent times—Electronic Arts has a net worth of around $36 billion.
In related news, last week saw Embracer Group, which already owns THQ Nordic, Gearbox Interactive, Square Enix Montréal, and many more, announced more acquisitions from within the gaming industry, including Limited Run Games and Tripwire Interactive.
https://www.techspot.com/news/95773-amazon-about-acquire-ea-nobody-know-certain.html
