Report: EA spoke to Disney, Apple, Amazon and NBC Universal about possible merger

There have been numerous takeovers and mergers in the gaming market in recent years. Companies like Microsoft, Sony and the Swedish Embracer Group have recently taken over studios and thus significantly expanded their market power.

Buy or be bought?

Allegedly, EA is now also looking for a way to merge with another company. According to a report from Kotaku, referring to a Paywall article by Puck relate, there have recently been several corresponding negotiations at EA. Specifically, there are said to have been talks with Disney, Apple, Amazon and NBC Universal, among others, with negotiations with the latter company being particularly advanced.

According to this, it was allegedly planned to merge the entertainment division of NBC Universal with EA – for example under the leadership of EA CEO Andrew Wilson. Apparently, both companies could not agree on the price, so the negotiations were ended. The price should also be a critical point in the talks with the other companies: If there are further negotiations, they will probably try to take over EA completely. Disney, Apple and Amazon could use this to significantly strengthen their own gaming divisions.

Equally exciting: Bang: Embracer buys Tomb Raider and several studios [Update 2]

So far, EA has not wanted to comment further on the rumours: a spokesman only pointed out that there was no information on current takeover and merger talks and that EA currently sees itself in a strong position. In an investor meeting in February, the EA CEO also pointed out that the company is currently focusing on acquiring other studios. So it remains to be seen whether EA will soon actually be bought itself, or whether other studios will be taken over instead.

Source: kotaku