Gaming

Capital Calls: Warner Bros’ Max, GameStop

7 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: The HBO-parent intends to offer live sports and news to its streaming package. Customers will end up footing the bill; the $6 bln video-game retailer turned itself from a meme stock to a viable company by recovering through cost cuts.

Barbie’s a boss but not a business model

5 Sep 2023

Warner Bros says the doll-based movie, its biggest ever at $1.4 bln, will boost cash flow and help pay down debt. The contribution is welcome amid a costly writers’ strike. Relying on old brands has a patchy track record, however, partly because they’re up against more new faces.

Microsoft rethink puts big tech M&A back on table

22 Aug 2023

The $2.4 trln tech giant will sell streaming rights to Ubisoft in a bid to get UK approval for its $69 bln Activision deal. The big concession is likely to work. It shows a path for tech giants to buy rivals, while sidelining regulators' fears that M&A will kill nascent markets.

Wynn shrewdly pares online betting chips

14 Aug 2023

In the face of fierce competition from MGM, DraftKings and others, Wynn Resorts is concentrating its digital sports betting in markets with actual casinos. Like poker, online betting is a winner-takes-most game. That means there will be loads of losers.

At least Disney’s boss is open to almost anything

9 Aug 2023

Revenue grew at 4%, the slowest pace in nine quarters, putting more pressure on Bob Iger. Since returning as CEO, he has signaled renewed flexibility, evidenced by allowing the ESPN brand to be used for gambling. It’ll take extra Imagineering to work fresh valuation magic.

Britain’s trustbuster has a shot at redemption

3 Aug 2023

Three months after saying no, the UK’s antitrust watchdog is giving Microsoft’s $69 bln Activision acquisition a second look. The U-turn is hurting the CMA’s reputation. But if Microsoft could acquire only parts of its quarry, the trustbuster’s blushes may yet be spared.

Activision’s comeback raises $69 bln question

13 Jul 2023

After defeating US trustbusters in court, Microsoft may need more time to seal the deal with UK authorities. The 45% premium struck when the “Call of Duty” maker was reeling looks less generous 18 months later. If negotiations drag, boss Bobby Kotick could push for a sweetener.

Microsoft-Activision deal not yet game on

12 Jul 2023

The $2.5 trillion tech giant has beaten down the US antitrust regulator. But the similar counterpart in the UK is digging in. Microsoft will have to either renegotiate its $69 billion deal with the gaming company or offer concessions, and then go through approval again.

Embracer cash call undermines investors’ M&A play

6 Jul 2023

The Swedish gaming group raised $180 mln from various investors at a 9% discount to its closing price. Last summer, it raised $1.1 bln from Saudi Arabia at a 15% premium. The contrast suggests a lower chance of a takeover, meaning CEO Lars Wingefors faces a single-player slog.

Macau wannabes risk being short of gamblers

29 Jun 2023

Japan and the UAE will soon have legal casinos; Thailand may follow. In theory Wynn, MGM and peers will have around $12 bln of new annual revenue to play for, more than Macau has raked in this year. But newcomers can’t rely on Chinese punters and their home markets are untested.

Capital Calls: Zee, Embracer

13 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: India’s securities regulator banned the media group’s CEO from holding any key managerial positions, putting its merger with Sony’s local unit under a cloud; the $3 bln video-game group’s new strategy hits the right buttons.

Gaming transatlantic gap invites M&A shoot-’em-up

9 Jun 2023

Shares in European gaming groups like Ubisoft are off by a fifth over the past year, underperforming stateside peers. Self-inflicted slip-ups are partly to blame, but players’ love for US-owned blockbusters means the valuation divide will endure. Dealmaking is a likely endgame.

Capital Calls: Embracer fail dents credibility

24 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: Shares in the $3 bln maker of shoot-’em-up video games fell nearly 45% after a mystery partnership agreement fell through at the eleventh hour.

Apollo’s Italy gambling IPO plays it suitably safe

21 Apr 2023

The US buyout fund is finalising a $3 bln listing of Italian betting firm Lottomatica. That will help slash the company’s debt and fund growth in Europe’s second-biggest gaming market. But the price discount suggests the IPO market remains a domain for the cautious and the needy.

“Super Mario” augurs more media-gaming tie-ups

20 Apr 2023

Nintendo and Universal’s film adaptation of the hit video game franchise could rake in $1.5 bln. That’s a big victory for an industry whose spinoffs have more often been the butt of jokes. With gaming stocks having sold off sharply, there’s logic in more media giants plugging in.

Macau reinvention is a big roll of the dice

14 Apr 2023

Casino operators Sands, MGM and others are juggling a recovery with spending on water parks, medical tourism and more to help the Chinese hub reduce its dependence on gambling. Investors can diversify too. They face better odds by sticking closer to the US holding companies.

Capital Calls: Saudi’s $5 bln gaming play

6 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: PIF-owned Savvy Games is acquiring US-based mobile gaming specialist Scopely for $4.9 bln, but it doesn’t obviously aid the kingdom’s wider gaming strategy.

Tencent puts spring back in its step

23 Mar 2023

After years of crackdowns and quarantines, the $423 bln giant sees green shoots sprouting in its video-games and ads businesses. The combination of regulatory respite, a post-lockdown consumption bounce plus cost cuts have put Tencent in a sweet spot for 2023.

Capital Calls: L&G/UK insurers

8 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $19 bln group led by Nigel Wilson is expanding rapidly overseas, which should help its depressed valuation.

Capital Calls: Schneider’s sustainable CEO

16 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Jean-Pascal Tricoire’s departure as chief executive of the French industrial software group after nearly two decades at the helm defies the trend of short-lived or underperforming corporate bosses.