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Announcement from Microsoft: Activision Blizzard owns many well-known game series
Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft is taking over video game provider Activision Blizzard in a deal worth almost $70 billion.
The Xbox manufacturer is thus securing popular game series such as "Call of Duty", "Overwatch" and "Candy Crush".
Microsoft is offering $95 a share of Activision Blizzard -- a hefty premium to Friday's closing price of $65.39 in the previous US trading day.
The game company is thus valued at a total of 68.7 billion dollars (60.4 billion euros), as Microsoft announced on Tuesday.
The previous head of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, should remain at the top of the game company, it said.
Kotick had come under criticism in recent months following allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against company managers.
In July, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard.
The culture within the company, which sees it as its mission to "connect the world through epic entertainment," is a "hotbed of harassment and discrimination against women," the lawsuit said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, since July 2021, Activion Blizzard has fired or forced to leave more than three dozen employees and disciplinary action on about 40 others in an effort to address harassment issues.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in an interview last week: "I am disgusted and saddened when I hear about work environments that cause teams and individuals so much heartache and destruction".
In November, Spencer wrote to his own people: "This type of behavior has no place in our industry." You yourself will "evaluate all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and, as a result, make proactive adjustments," it said at the time.
pbe/dpa
