Holly Liu’s Post

Fascinating that Davis Ellison has made a bid for Paramount's assets. Details are elusive, to say the least, but the notion that Skydance is prepared to take on the assets (and debts) of Paramount is certainly noteworthy. The difference between this and some other mergers and acquisitions of note is that Ellison has shown over time an interest in content and creativity, as distinguished from more cynical business moves (see: Discovery). It feels like what Ellison is doing is trying to save a legacy company from itself, and leverage new and developing business models using their established assets. That's probably smart, although it will depend greatly upon which assets and how leveraged/exploited. I do find it amusing that Bakish is urging some belt-tightening. Dude, you are out of a job if this happens. And if I'm acquiring, I'm pushing back on your parachute, after a rather short-ish era of pedestrian leadership. The reason you're in play is the reason you're going to be fired on day one. Assuming Ellison gets it done, there will be an entirely new regime, and really that will be a welcome change. I for one look forward to reinvigorated IP, and a new vision.

Video game companies, video streamers, and even hyperscalers are pursuing gaming mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for talent, tech, and intellectual property to expand portfolios and quickly access new markets. Find out more in our TMT Predictions 2023 report: deloi.tt/3GGYMoT #DeloittePredicts

Rick Arpin, KPMG US Gaming Leader, and Las Vegas managing partner, authored an article for Gaming & Leisure® magazine's fall edition on mergers and acquisitions in the gaming industry. Anticipating the M&A Thaw in Gaming focuses on why deals have slowed down, factors that can drive elevated M&A activity in the future, and important considerations for gaming companies. #MergersandAcquisitions #GamingIndustry #KPMGUS #KPMGLasVegas

🌟 Excited to share my new article on The Delicate Balancing Act of M&A where I explore the strategic acquisition process and delve into the post transaction announcement complexities by referring to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard transaction. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/euRiGiR7 #mergersandacquisitions #businessinsights #microsoftactivisionblizzard #strategicacquisition #posttransactionrisk

No Strategy For Old Men Yesterday I wrote about how the American Media Industrial Complex is now old, stale, and void of innovation. https://lnkd.in/epJbNZfg The embodiment of this incurable case of overripeness is Warner Bros. Discovery which effectuated a massive Media merger with no strategy other than cutting costs to the bone and making two aging deal makers (Malone and Zaslav) tons more money. To say the least, this effort has been an epic failure. This week Wells Fargo downgraded its rating on Disco Bros stock and trimmed its price target by 33%. https://lnkd.in/eXCqTadF Among the many reasons for the downgrade: WBD isn’t selling enough ads, they aren’t adding enough subs, the Discovery content they shoved into Max is not working, and no one else on earth wants to buy them. WBD is now worth 41% of its value on the day of the merger. Sure, Zas and Malone have slashed overhead. But they’ve also stunted revenue growth, while only slightly reducing the massive debt they amassed to make the deal in the first place. Deal flow is not strategy. Mergers are not a business model. Just because it worked back in the day, doesn’t mean it will work now. TL;DR, this ain’t your grandad’s TV business. We talk a lot about the Media Apocalypse on this app. But if we want to emerge from it, we really must start focusing on the Captains of Industry who drove us here, and our industry’s desperate need for a generational shift in leadership.

⭐GAME INDUSTRY INVESTMENTS⭐ 📈Interesting news: gaming industry investments, acquisitions and mergers are set to increase for 2024. 💰Michael Metzger predicts that "Tencent, Sony, Take-Two, and Savvy/Scopely will be the most active buyers in 2024, while the Embracer Group is expected to divest more studios". 🎮This can be partly credited to the comeback the gaming industry has had after the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full article by Axios Gaming here: https://lnkd.in/efRB9sxn

Record Year for Gaming M&A: VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi breaks down the Drake Star Global Gaming report and all you need to know. 3 top takeaways here: 1)     Record-breaking $86 Billion in Closed Game Mergers and Acquisitions in 2023: The Drake Star Global Gaming Report 2023 reveals that closed game mergers and acquisitions in 2023 reached an all-time high, totaling $86 billion. From a deal count perspective, 2023 saw 965 closed deals and 960 deals announced. 2)     Top M&A Deals in 2023:  The report identifies significant M&A deals in 2023, including Savvy Games Group/PIF's (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) acquisition of Scopely for $4.9 billion, Kahoot's acquisition by a Goldman Sachs consortium for $1.7 billion, and Tencent's majority acquisition of Techland for $1.6 billion.   3)     2024 Outlook: Drake Star predicts a potential increase in smaller to mid-size M&A deals, driven by private equity firms attracted to lower valuations of listed gaming companies. The firm also predicts a healthy amount of seed/early-stage financings, particularly in AI/tools and AR/VR segments, with the expectation that IPO-ready gaming companies may restart their public offerings in the second half of 2024 as the public gaming market improves. Full article link in comments for key charts, statistics, and other highlights in Gaming M&A. Drake Star Gaming Report Authors: Michael Metzger, Mohit Pareek, CFA #Gaming #Games #ArtificialIntelligence #MergersAndAcquisitions

Mergers that seem to be driven by (i) unsubstantiated belief that growth and better asset management will result; (ii) ego-greed of C-suite/investment banks; and/or (iii) means to escape from a prior bad merger decision that has been mismanaged into loss, have substantially resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and market value. If there's a different view coming into play that argues against these kinds of mergers, that ought to be a good thing.

Capcom's Response to Microsoft: Equal Partnership Preferred Amidst Gaming Industry Mergers Summary: We delve into Capcom's intriguing response to a potential acquisition by Microsoft amidst the ongoing Microsof...

Exciting news in the business world as Company considers a potential deal with Skydance, while Sony and Apollo are gearing up to make a counter-offer. It's a high-stakes game that could have a significant impact on the industry landscape. - This potential deal showcases the competitive nature of the market and the desire to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving entertainment industry. - It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what strategic moves the companies involved will make to secure the deal. - Collaborations and mergers of this scale often lead to innovation and growth opportunities, benefiting not only the companies but also the consumers. As the world of entertainment continues to evolve, strategic partnerships and acquisitions will be crucial in staying relevant and competitive in the industry. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting development!