A report about Comcast CEO Brian Roberts’ plan to merge NBC with the game publisher claims that EA has been seeking a merger and Apple was a potential suitor.
For a long time, Apple has been making acquisitions, in part to strengthen its staff and expertise base, and in part to help it enter new markets more swiftly. According to a Friday report, at least some consideration was given to purchasing Electronic Arts.
When addressing Brian Roberts’ attempt to get Andrew Wilson on board with an NBCUniversal-Comcast joint venture, insiders claim that there were other discussions as well.
A number of “possible suitors” for a sale have been discussed with Wilson and EA, according to Puck’s sources, during the last few years. Apple was one of many potential buyers, along with Disney and Amazon.
As a result of its recent acquisition spree, EA is claimed to have grown “more brazen” in its pursuit of a sale in 2022. Bungie, the developer of the “Destiny” video game, was purchased by Sony for $3.6 billion, while Take-Two Interactive paid Zynga $12.7 billion and Microsoft paid Activision Blizzard $68.7 billion.
EA is interested in a merger that “would allow Wilson to remain as CEO of the combined company,” according to sources.
There was no comment from Apple, Amazon, or Disney.
It is doubtful that Apple would acquire a game company, despite the company’s recent forays into the industry, such as its membership to Apple Arcade. With the notable exception of the $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics in 2014, Apple rarely acquires companies at such large scales.