Activision Blizzard’s plan to buy the Dublin-based maker of Candy Crush Saga for $5.9 billion not only gives it access to the fast-growing mobile gaming industry, it will help save taxes.
By using $3.6 billion of cash stored outside the US to help finance the acquisition of King Digital Entertainment, Activision will save about $1 billion in taxes it would have had to pay to repatriate the money, according to tax consultant Robert Willens. Investors, who initially sent Activision shares down as much as 6.3 percent, have reversed course. The stock gained as much as 9.3 percent in New York on Tuesday, and was up 6.5 percent as of 1:39 p.m.
Activision, known for the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft games played on consoles and PCs, is positioning itself to capitalize on growing smartphone-based play. At $18 a share, the biggest US video-game maker is paying 20 percent less than King’s initial public offering price of $22.50 in March 2014. The stock had fallen after the IPO on concerns that King may fail to diversify from its top-selling game and become a one-hit wonder.
Full content: Barron’s
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI