Amazon Not Expected to Bid for Electronic Arts, Says CNBC

EA (Eletronic Arts) Sports logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. (Reuters)
EA (Eletronic Arts) Sports logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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Amazon Not Expected to Bid for Electronic Arts, Says CNBC

EA (Eletronic Arts) Sports logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. (Reuters)
EA (Eletronic Arts) Sports logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. (Reuters)

Amazon.com Inc is not expected to bid for Electronic Arts Inc, CNBC said on Friday, citing sources, quashing an earlier report that the online giant would make an offer today for the videogame publisher.

EA shares jumped 15% in premarket trading after the report from USA Today on Amazon's takeover offer for the "FIFA" and "Apex Legends" owner. The stock was up 4% in early trading, giving the company a market valuation of over $37 billion.

Amazon and EA said they do not comment on rumors and M&A speculation.

Sitting on a cash pile of about $37 billion, Amazon has hit the acquisition trail to diversify its business beyond e-commerce and cloud under new Chief Executive Andy Jassy.

The company earlier this month offered to buy Roomba-maker iRobot Corp for $1.7 billion, just weeks after agreeing to acquire primary care provider One Medical for $3.5 billion.

Amazon, which owns videogame live-streaming platform Twitch, has also purchased MGM studios, the maker of "Rocky" and "James Bond", movies for $8.5 billion.

EA's strong licenses, intellectual property rights and the potential to build new games in the metaverse make it an attractive option for tech giants looking to grab attention from a younger audience, analysts said.

Bets on the metaverse had also powered Microsoft Corp's $68.7 billion deal for EA rival and "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard Inc in January.

The new deals are also blurring the line between personal computer and mobile gaming companies and come against the backdrop of a struggling global gaming industry as the pandemic-fueled surge in demand ebbs.

The global gaming market is expected to grow just 2% in 2022 from a year ago, data from research firm Newzoo showed, a far cry from the 23% growth clocked in 2020.

EA has forecast lackluster adjusted sales numbers, saying it was not "completely immune" to recession.

Its shares had lost about 3% to Thursday's close, compared with a nearly 30% drop for Take-Two.



SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
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SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) received certificates for its nominated projects, which were recognized among the best entries at the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes held in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighting SDAIA’s innovative contributions to the fields of data and artificial intelligence (AI).

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields.

Out of 973 submissions from various countries, they were chosen after an expert evaluation conducted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), SPA reported.

The nominated projects included the government cloud-computing platform “Deem,” which provides integrated and flexible cloud services for government entities; the “Nafath” application for biometric identity verification; the “Serti” service within the “Tawakkalna” app that enables users to display their certified academic qualifications; the “Tahseen” project, which uses AI to restore and enhance historical media; and the “Allam” and “Sawtak” projects, both of which represent a significant leap in supporting and processing Arabic using large language models and speech recognition technologies.

These achievements reflect the Kingdom’s commitment, through SDAIA, to reinforcing its global standing as a trusted authority in data and AI, advancing the national digital transformation agenda, and supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. They also contribute to enhancing the Kingdom’s regional and international competitiveness in technology and innovation.