Electronic Arts is actively seeking a buyer or company interested in merging with it, according to a pay-walled article shared yesterday from Puck, a new journalist-owned subscription media company “covering power, money, and ego.” Some of the companies that EA has approached for a deal thus far include Apple, Amazon, and Disney, it’s said, the latter of which reportedly declined because it’s too busy with developing its fledgling streaming service, Disney+. Broadband and cable giant Comcast was reportedly the closest to reaching a deal with EA, with CEO Brian Roberts having approached EA CEO Andrew Wilson with an offer to merge NBCUniversal with EA. EA’s goal of getting bought out or merging with another company is believed to be driven by Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
“We don’t comment on rumors and speculation relating to M&A,” an EA spokesperson told Kotaku in a statement. “We are proud to be operating from a position of strength and growth, with a portfolio of amazing games, built around powerful IP, made by incredibly talented teams, and a network of more than half a billion players. We see a very bright future ahead.”
“In recent years, as media companies have taken greater interest in the rapidly growing gaming industry, Wilson and Electronic Arts have held talks with a number of different potential suitors, including Disney, Apple and Amazon, sources with knowledge of those talks told me,” wrote Puck’s veteran media reporter, Dylan Beyers. “Several sources familiar with these talks say EA has been persistent in pursuing a sale, and has only grown more emboldened in the wake of the Microsoft-Activision deal. Others say that EA is primarily interested in a merger arrangement that would allow Wilson to remain as chief executive of the combined company.”