Is Microsoft Ready to Buy Electronic Arts?

IGN.com wrote:

Is Microsoft Ready to Buy Electronic Arts?
Shares for both companies jump, chatter ensues.
by Jim Reilly
September 23, 2009 - Rumblings of a Electronic Arts takeover by Microsoft have driven Wall Street into a frenzy this morning.

Reuters is reporting "unsubstantiated talk" of a possible sale, causing shares to jump for both companies. Electronic Arts saw a jump of over 8% to $20.01, while Microsoft's shares increased 1.1 percent to $26.05

"There's talk that Microsoft might be interested in acquiring Electronic Arts. It's unsubstantiated chatter, but it's out there," said options strategist Frederic Ruffy.

Analyst Trip Chowdhry said talk of this sale is unjustified. "Our contacts just don't see Microsoft buying Electronic Arts, no synergies whatsoever, and also not Microsoft's corporate primary focus right now."

Electronic Arts and Microsoft have yet to issue any comments on this story.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told IGN a sale of this magnitude is highly unlikely.

"Their value as a one platform exclusive publisher is lower than their value on multi-platform. A media company would pay a lot more," he said. "Also, most licenses would terminate."

Reuters wrote:

dds analyst comment, updates share price)

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Shares of Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O) jumped more than 8 percent on Wednesday on unsubstantiated talk that Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) may want to buy the video game publisher, but an analyst poured cold water on the idea.

"There's talk that Microsoft might be interested in acquiring Electronic Arts. It's unsubstantiated chatter, but it's out there," said Frederic Ruffy, an options strategist at WhatsTrading.com in New York.

But Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research, said Electronic Arts was not on Microsoft's "radar screen" based on his industry contacts.

"Our contacts just don't see Microsoft buying Electronic Arts, no synergies whatsoever, and also not Microsoft's corporate primary focus right now," Chowdhry wrote in an e-mailed note.

Last year, Electronic Arts, the publisher of popular titles like "Madden" football, unsuccessfully pursued a buyout of rival video game company Take Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O).

The Redwood City, California-company, which has a market value of $6.5 billion, is frequently named by traders as a target for Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and Time Warner Inc (TWX.N).

Electronic Arts' shares were up 8.1 percent at $20.01 in afternoon Nasdaq trading. Microsoft shares gained 1.1 percent to $26.05.

An Electronic Arts representative was not available for a comment. A Microsoft representative declined to comment.

On Tuesday, the stock of THQ Inc (THQI.O) surged 13 percent as rumors swirled that the smallest of the major U.S. video game companies might be the target of a takeover. Analysts said those types of rumors come up about once every quarter. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu and Anupreeta Das; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio and Maureen Bavdek)

What will this have to mean for Bioware and SWTOR, Dragon Age & Mass Effect II and will SWTOR come on Xbox 360.

Lord_Nord wrote:

What will this have to mean for Bioware and SWTOR, Dragon Age & Mass Effect II and will SWTOR come on Xbox 360.

Bioware has successfully named itself one of the top dogs in the RPG genre. If EA is bought (which is highly unlikely), then I think that it will also continue it's duty of making RPG games, and Microsoft won't be passing the publishing rights onto EA (whom I don't remember ever publishing an RPG), so MA and Dragon Age will stay with Microsoft. More likely, Microsoft and EA will keep their names seperate but EA will be under Microsoft's thin leash.

Update Microsoft have no plan to Acquire EA

IGN.com wrote:

icrosoft Has 'No Plans' To Acquire EA
Gaming's biggest merger isn't happening, folks.
by Jim Reilly
September 24, 2009 - As many analysts predicted earlier, software giant Microsoft has no intention of purchasing Electronic Arts, one of the industry's top game publishers.

"We have no plans to acquire EA," a Microsoft spokesperson told MarketWatch.

Reports yesterday fueled speculation when "unsubstantiated talk" of a sale between the two companies caused shares for Electronic Arts to jump more than 8%. "There's talk that Microsoft might be interested in acquiring Electronic Arts. It's unsubstantiated chatter, but it's out there," said options strategist Frederic Ruffy to Reuters.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told IGN that EA would never agree to sell to a company like Microsoft.

"Their value as a one platform exclusive publisher is lower than their value on multi-platform. A media company would pay a lot more," he said. "Also, most licenses would terminate."

This news won't end chatter about Electronic Arts' eventual sale, however, as it's believed the company is getting looks from several media giants, including Time Warner and Disney.

Sux. Microsoft would've stopped EA from raping games.

...but perhaps have killed the good ones off