Key Takeaways:
- Sony announces its acquirement of Bungie.
- Sony’s share rose tremendously after this acquisition.
On January 31, Bellevue, Washington-based Bungie announced on their official website that they had found Sony as “a partner who unconditionally supports” them and wants to elevate their vision to help create generation crossing entertainment. In addition, Sony Interactive Entertainment also announced it had acquired the Leading Independent Videogame Developer.
Soon after this announcement, the stock price of Sony made a jump of 5.92% to $113 at 1:22 p.m. in New York. Recently it was trading 3.78% higher to $110 as of 2:55 p.m ET. However, Sony’s American depository receipts were delayed forthcoming the news.
Sony has gained access to Bungie’s live service games, especially “Destiny”. However, Bungie will continue to operate independently, retaining its ability to self-publish, and its games will still be multiplatform. Bungie’s Board of Directors, chaired by Pete Parsons, also Bungie’s CEO, will be leading the company. The acquisition is likely to close conditions, including regulatory approvals, says Sony.
This is one of the most significant acquisitions of Sony to date, but this is not the first time that Bungie has been acquired. Microsoft bought it for $30 million, after which Bungie became independent after the release of Halo 3. Bungie also ended a decade-long deal with Activision in 2019.
The president and CEO of Sony, Jim Ryan, has said, “We’ve had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family,”
Neil Campling, head of TMT Research at Mirabaud Securities, said in a note on Monday, “What does Bungie bring to Sony? Well apart from some hugely successful IPs (especially Destiny) there are 800 developers with free to play and Gaming as a Service experience”
