Buffett’s Berkshire purchased nearly $1 billion worth of Activision shares before the Microsoft agreement
Key takeaways:
- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway hopped into Activision Blizzard after a state case accusing a sexist culture at the game publisher sent the stock cost down.
- Microsoft revealed its plan to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in mid-January.
- Buffett is balanced to notch a pretty gain if the acquisition completes.
Microsoft intended to buy Activision Blizzard:
According to a regulatory filing, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought back $1 billion worth of shares in Activision Blizzard in the fourth quarter, bouncing in before Microsoft decided to buy the video-game publisher for $68.7 billion.
The filing indicates that Berkshire holds 14.66 million shares esteemed at $975 million as of the end of 2021.
Microsoft declared its purpose to reach Activision Blizzard for $95 per share in mid-January, sending the stock up 25% to overhead $82, though it’s since lost a bit. It would be the most significant agreement ever by a U.S. technology firm.
Buffett is balanced to notch a stunning profit should the deal be near. The stock went as low as $56.40 in the fourth quarter after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a case alleging that Activision and its associates promoted a sexist culture and paid females less than males.
Activision also stated in November that it was slowing the releases of Diablo IV and Overwatch 2. And it was shot with disappointing assessments of its new game, Call of Duty: Vanguard released the same month.
Bill Gates, the co-founder and ex-CEO of Microsoft left Berkshire and Microsoft's boards in 2020. Gates is a longtime companion of Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO. They rate fourth and sixth, respectively, among the world’s wealthiest individuals, according to Forbes.