Apparently, Electronic Arts wants to become delicious food for a larger corporation. This information is a piece of a larger article about Comcast-NBCUniversal chief Brian Roberts, which notes that the games publisher had sought a merger with NBCUniversal, and though the deal fell through, EA is still trying to find a buyer.
According to insiders, EA has courted potential suitors such as Disney, Apple, and Amazon, while the NBCUniversal buyout got the furthest along in negotiations before eventually falling apart over price. Those same insiders also state that EA has not given up on getting acquired – in fact, the planned big buyout of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft has reportedly only emboldened EA to press on.
EA spokesperson John Reseburg rebutted this reporting in a statement saying, “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation relating to M&A. 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.” Comcast, Disney, and Apple did not respond to requests for comments.
The official statement does align with EA’s latest earnings call, which noted a 21% rise in net bookings, a “rethinking” of development for Battlefield 2042, and four new games set for sometime in the fourth quarter of next year, so it appears that it is business as usual. Unless EA gets nommed by someone, anyway.
