The US game company who produce World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard, have announced plans to buy Irish firm King Digital Entertainment in a deal worth $5.9 billion.
King Digital, the creators of popular app game Candy Crush, will widen the appeal and reach of Activision’s games, with the company hoping the acquisition would make it a global leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console and PC platforms. After the deal, Activision will have more than half a billion monthly active users in nearly 200 countries.
Chief Executive Bobby Kotick told Reuters:
“You have such broad reach. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to create compelling content for new demographics.”
The deal is expected to be completed early next year and has not yet received approval from the Irish High Court. To fund the deal, Activision have said that it will use $3.6 billion of offshore cash and the rest will be lent by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
King Digital (NYSE:KING) are trading up 3.88 percent on the news.
