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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)
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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.

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Technology

Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Microsoft pledged Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data center operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company's president, Brad Smith, said it's not something that officials are talking about in Washington, D.C. but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft's customers across Europe, which include governments.

President Donald Trump has stoked tensions between the US and Europe with his tariff-fueled trade war, and alarmed European leaders with policy changes, including pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that throw into doubt his administration's commitment to the trans-Atlantic relationship, The AP news reported.

Smith, speaking at an event in Brussels, tried to allay concerns as he announced that the company was expanding data center operations across Europe.

“What we want Europeans to know is that they can count on us,” he said in a speech.

“In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court,” Smith wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

He noted that Microsoft has experience fighting lawsuits from the previous Trump administration as well as from former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“If we ever find ourselves losing we will put in place business continuity arrangements” that include storing computer code in Switzerland that European partners can access, he said.

Microsoft is making five digital commitments to Europe, including increasing its data center capacity by 40 in 16 countries over the next two years, Smith said. The expansion will cost tens of billions of dollars annually. Smith declined to be more specific about the cost when asked by reporters.

The expansion comes amid calls for Europe to assert tech and data sovereignty by weaning itself off reliance from big US cloud data service providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Google.

“Given recent geopolitical volatility, we recognize that European governments likely will consider additional options,” and Microsoft is committed to collaborating with European companies, Smith said.