Blog: acquisitions

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

NetEase’s expansion to the West is in full swing

Karol Severin

2 Jun 2023

Netease

acquisitions

expansion

Since the beginning of 2023, NetEase has been rapidly announcing new studios, averaging one per month. These have either been established internally, or acquired. - It acquired SkyBox Labs (Canadian games studio) in January - It announced Spliced in February (a global remote-first studio with offices in the UK, but employees in US, Canada, UK, and ‘beyond’) - It took a short break in March but announced two new studios in May - In April, it announced Anchor Point Studios (based in Spain) - In May, it announced Bad Brain Studios (based in Canada) - Most recently announced PinCool Inc (based in Japan) The cadence of these announcements has positioned NetEase as one of the world’s most active companies in terms of 2023 studio expansion.

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Quick take: Are Netflix’s games efforts still in line with the consumer needs of today?

Karol Severin

29 Sep 2022

Netflix

mobile gaming

Games industry

It has been a year since Netflix announced its first games studio acquisition. Two days ago, it announced the launch of its own in-house gaming studio based in Finland, bringing a fourth gaming studio into its arsenal.

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PlayStation and Xbox exchange PR blows amid the Activision deal approval process

Karol Severin

19 Aug 2022

PlayStation

Xbox

Activision

Sony and Xbox exchanged PR salvos last week as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision came under regulatory scrutiny in Brazil. Within it, companies got an opportunity to comment on the impacts of the acquisition.

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Microsoft sets the scene for regulator scrutiny around Activision deal

Karol Severin

10 Feb 2022

acquisitions

Microsoft

Activision

Brad Smith, president and vice chair at Microsoft, published a post on Microsoft’s website yesterday , outlining the company’s new Open App Store principles and addressing key questions around exclusivity going forward.

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Acquiring Activision is Microsoft’s big bang in games

Karol Severin

19 Jan 2022

acquisitions

m&a

Microsoft

Only last week we wrote about Take-Two acquiring Zynga for $12.7 billion in what was the largest games acquisition in history. But that was last week. This week, that record is beaten more than five-fold, thanks to Microsoft acquiring Activision for an eye-watering $68.

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Why acquiring Codemasters is a double-edged sword for EA

Karol Severin

22 Jan 2021

licensing

Codemasters

EA’s portfolio is still heavily dependent on third party IP licenses EA’s revenue is heavily dependent on licensed IP titles. This includes FIFA, Madden NFL, NHL, as well as its whole Star Wars games portfolio.

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Thoughts On WMG's Acquisition of Spinnin Records

Zach Fuller

8 Sep 2017

acquisitions

dance music

Media

Warner Music Group has announced they will be acquiring Dutch Dance Label Spinnin Records for $100m. Whilst the label boasts some of the most popular names in Dance Music, such as Martin Garrix and Tiesto, much like the record Neymar transfer we discussed earlier this year , this is as much an investment in digital real-estate as it is for Spinnin’s copyright and management functions.

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Disney and Netflix: A Full-Stack Media Dream

Zach Fuller

7 Oct 2016

acquisitions

BAMTech

Bob Iger

Previously linked as being one of many suitors for Twitter, Disney additionally emerged this week as a rumoured buyer for video giant Netflix. Only last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger declared his company had ‘cracked the code for keeping moviemaking profitable’, but through this triumphalist narrative, these are uncertain times for content monetisation, especially as ad-dollars both migrate from television or in some cases are blocked completely.

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