Microsoft is the dominant force in business software, and a giant player in cloud computing.
In anticipation of a longer review, Microsoft said it did not expect the Activision deal to close until the next fiscal year, which ends in June 2023.
Activision makes major hits like Call of Duty and Candy Crush, and the takeover would make Microsoft the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, the company said.
The deal could also give Microsoft a significant boost against Facebook, which is considered the leader in the so-called metaverse, the name given to the virtual world.
In Activision, which faces accusations that senior executives ignored sexual harassment and discrimination, Microsoft found a target under stress.
Mr. Kotick negotiated a big premium for investors — Microsoft is paying $95 a share, roughly 45 percent above his company’s stock price before the announcement — and he will continue running the company at least until the deal closes.
The gaming industry, which has been flush with cash since the pandemic increased the industry’s profits, has been consolidating rapidly.
Activision’s recent profits have been split fairly evenly across its three subsidiaries, with the Candy Crush-maker King pulling in the most money, $303 million in operating income, in its most recent quarterly earnings report.
The takeover is likely to be among the biggest announced this year, continuing a boom in the mergers business.
Activision itself was the product of serial deal-making by Mr. Kotick over decades, rolling up smaller game studios.
The Wall Street bank said profit in the final three months of the year dropped 13 percent from the previous year to $3.94 billion, or $10.81 a share, falling short of analysts’ expectations.
“2021 was a record year for Goldman Sachs,” David M.
The company’s investment bankers brought in record revenue, while its stock and bond traders generated the highest revenue in 12 years, even as quarterly revenue in its trading division slumped 7 percent.
Treasury note climbed to 1.84 percent, the highest level since January 2020, before the pandemic hampered the economy.
A pair of rival banks, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, had also published disappointing results last week, and shares of large banks were broadly lower on Tuesday.
The prospects for higher interest rates this year has weighed on technology stocks in particular and that was true again on Tuesday.
Shares of Microsoft were down 1.8 percent on Tuesday after the company announced it would buy Activision Blizzard, the video game maker, for $68.7 billion in cash.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, hovered above $88 a barrel in early trading Tuesday, reaching its highest level since 2014, before dropping slightly to $87.23.
“The damage to the U.A.E.
The protest by the chief executives of Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines and seven other passenger and cargo carriers threw into question a deal reached this month between the Federal Aviation Administration and the telecommunications companies.
The airline executives said in their letter on Monday, which was reported earlier by Reuters, that aircraft manufacturers had informed them in recent weeks that the measures promised by Verizon and AT&T were not enough to prevent interference with aircraft sensors.
“Multiple modern safety systems on aircraft will be deemed unusable,” according to the letter, which carried the letterhead of Airlines for America, an industry group.
When Pattie Sellers helped start Fortune’s list of the world’s most powerful women more than two decades ago, it served as a showcase of women at the top of their fields.
“We’re looking to help them get beyond the barriers,” said Beverly Kirk, Journey’s executive director.
Journey’s intentionally small fellowship class is intended in part to allow for open dialogue about the personal and professional challenges behind those numbers.
Ultimately, Journey’s success will be measured by that of its sponsors.
Bank earnings: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will post their earnings report for the fourth quarter.
Procter & Gamble earnings: Investors will assess how inflation is affecting the company, which makes brands including Pampers, Oral-B and Gillette.
More 5G: AT&T and Verizon will turn on a new segment of 5G service in the United States after the companies agreed to a two-week delay to resolve airline safety concerns.
Netflix earnings: The streaming service is expected to have added 8.5 million new subscribers during the quarter ending in December, similar to what it added in the same period the year before.
Unilever said on Monday that it remained interested in buying the maker of Advil, ChapStick and Tums, a joint venture of GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, after its previous takeover bids had been rejected.
Europeans bought more electric cars than diesels in December, a stunning illustration of the growing popularity of battery power and the decline of diesel, which was once the most popular engine option in Europe.
6 Capitol riot and the safety of coronavirus vaccines — will be dropped by DirecTV, the satellite and streaming network that is one of OAN’s major distributors.