As regulators around the world are scrutinizing and debating Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, there’s one person who is very confident in it going through: billionaire Warren Buffett. Specifically, Warren Buffett’s investment group Berkshire Hathaway is betting big on the merger by purchasing 4 million more share in Q2 of this year. All told, Berkshire Hathaway owns 68.3 million shares of ATVI stock. As the 5th richest man in the world, it’s hard to bet against Warren Buffet’s gut, but the market is doing just that. Buffett is happy to gobble up those shares, but why is the market as a whole so nervous about this deal.
The proposed purchase of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft is far and away the biggest deal in video game history both in cost and impact on the industry landscape. Activision Blizzard is a massive publisher that has some of the biggest and most successful franchises in history. The biggest of which, and the one causing most of the questions, is Call of Duty. The Call of Duty franchise never fails to deliver on sales and revenue. It is also always available on both the PlayStation and the Xbox, whatever generation it is. Critics are worried that this deal could limit the audience of Call of Duty and force fans of the massive franchise to abandon PlayStation entirely. Whatever your console allegiance (you should like them all and just be happy that folks are gaming), less competition in any industry tends to be bad for everyone involved. That is the chief concern with this deal.
Microsoft has assured regulators that Call of Duty will continue to be available on PlayStation as will many other games coming from the publisher. Though you should never say never, Microsoft does stand to make more money from this purchase by making sure as many people as possible stay in the Call of Duty universe and continue to play Warzone. How things ultimately shake out is still up in the air, but Warren Buffett is putting his money where his mouth is at least.
Image from: gamesindustry.biz
