Start with the general motivation behind the deal: what was Microsoft’s situation prior to announcement, what Activision’s? Why was there a motivation for the deal from both sides? In other words: why gaming? (Metaverse, ‘new internet’ as Satya Nadella put it, etc.). In that, please include both what the two companies said about the deal, as well as some ‘sentiment’ (what did the press say? Etc.)And on the metaverse aspect itself: were there any numbers mentioned (revenues, profitability) that could be realized as part of the deal? And why?Also, just for good measure: give a financial overview of both companies, stock price developments, future prospects etc. In that, also mention: were the companies (particularly Microsoft) involved in any other high-level M&As in the past? Were there any other big developments in the companies’ recent histories?The antitrust considerations of the deal: this will give you a nice chance to describe what antitrust laws are for, why they impact M&As, and how they (might) find applicability in the MS/Activision dealThe competitors’ reactions are quite interesting: upon announcement, lots of gaming companies saw an increase in their stock prices, in the hopes they might become acquisition targets themselves, whereas Sony, for example, saw the biggest stock price drop in ages (I think -15% or something). This gives some insight into how the market perceives the deal and the possible falloutIt recently came to light that there might have been insider trading leading up to the announcement of the deal: apparently, Activision’s CEO met with someone who later traded heavily on the deal. As part of an M&A transaction, corporate insiders are usually bound by ‘blackout’ periods not to trade shares themselves, and of course cannot share inside information with outsider who then trade on it. So perhaps you could tie this in with the antitrust laws, as a sort of ‘legal aspects of M&A deals’ part and then discuss both things. Insider trading is a serious white collar crime, so mentioning that in your project would definitely be interesting.Another interesting thing: apparently, Warren Buffett bought a $1bn stake in Activision weeks before the deal was announced. Either that’s him being his usual genius self, or it was also based on ‘elite’ information. Worth mentioning, though!Also, I think it’d be nice to show a timeline of the deal, from the announcement forward. You could use this to show how a deal ‘unfolds’, almost in real time.Finally, do talk about the valuation: is $75bn (initially $69bn, I think) ‘fair’? Also, in terms of magnitude: it seems big, but it’s <5% of Microsoft’s market cap. On the other hand: it’s a 45% premium over the stock price at acquisition – which is a lot? So, provide some general considerations regarding the price.
