The Daily Insider: Microsoft tops biggest acquisition ever, buys Activision Blizzard

It's almost two decades since my late son Travis suggested I start looking at investing into video game companies. It was among a number of his prods that, with hindsight, now fall firmly into the "if only…." category.

Yesterday, the mighty Microsoft parted with cold cash of more than a trillion rand to acquire Activision Blizzard, the video game giant whose portfolio includes household names Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.

The $68.7bn deal, more than double what Microsoft paid for its previously biggest acquisition LinkedIn, elevates the X-Box maker into the world's third largest gaming company behind Tencent and Sony. Unlike Tencent, it doesn't dance to Chinese president-for-life Xi's "opium of the mind" tune.

This looks to be excellent timing by Microsoft, a cornerstone of the BizNews share portfolios. Activision Blizzard's shares had fallen 30% since July when Californian regulators filed a sexual harassment suit against the business. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella clearly believes "this too shall pass…."

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