Activision Blizzard Acquisition & Valuation
Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft for $69B in January 2022, a 7.5x multiple on $9.1B of revenue.
Activision Blizzard revenue at acquisition
$9.1B
Last twelve months · Jan 2022
Activision Blizzard revenue multiple at acquisition
7.5x
EV/Revenue · Jan 2022
Activision Blizzard EBITDA multiple at acquisition
24.4x
EV/EBITDA · Jan 2022
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard is an American video game holding company that was formed in 2008 through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, the parent of Blizzard Entertainment. It publishes and develops games through Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King, with franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Candy Crush. Its customers are consumers on console, PC and mobile platforms, and it earns revenue from game sales, in-game purchases and subscriptions. Microsoft acquired the company in 2023. The group is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and operates studios in North America, Europe and Asia. Activision publishes the Call of Duty and Skylanders series, Blizzard develops its online worlds and King makes mobile puzzle games. Its business is split between premium game sales, digital in-game content and subscription revenue. Vivendi owned a majority of the group until it bought back shares in 2013.
Founded
2008
HQ
Los Angeles, CAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales
Revenue
$4.9B (Jul 2013)
Valuation
$9.4B (Jul 2013)
Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft for $69B on 18 January 2022.
The acquisition price implies a 7.5x revenue and 24.4x EBITDA multiple on $9.1B of revenue.
Microsoft announced on 18 January 2022 that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share in cash, an equity value of roughly $75 billion and an enterprise value of $68.7 billion net of Activision's cash. It was the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history and the largest ever in the video game industry. The transaction added the Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Candy Crush franchises to Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios and was framed by Microsoft as providing building blocks for the metaverse and for its Game Pass subscription service. Regulatory review by the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission delayed the deal well beyond the original target, and it closed on 13 October 2023 after Microsoft agreed to divest cloud-streaming rights for Activision titles outside the European Economic Area to Ubisoft. Activision Blizzard reported net revenue of about $8.8 billion for 2021 and had around 10,000 employees at announcement.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jan 2022 | Strategic M&A | $69B | 7.5x | 24.4x |
Sources: npr.org, variety.com
Activision Blizzard Valuation
Activision Blizzard is currently valued at $9.4B, based on its secondary sale in July 2013. Read the announcement ↗
The $2.3B round included Davis Advisors, Tencent and Leonard Green & Partners.
Activision Blizzard valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2013 | Secondary | $9.4B | 1.9x |
Activision Blizzard Revenue
Activision Blizzard's latest recorded revenue is $4.9B, as of its secondary sale in July 2013. At a $9.4B valuation, that implies a 1.9x revenue multiple.
Activision Blizzard revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2013 | $4.9B | $9.4B | 1.9x | Secondary |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Activision Blizzard Funding History
Activision Blizzard has 1 recorded secondary share sale and no primary funding rounds.
Activision Blizzard funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2013 | Secondary | Davis Advisors; Tencent; Leonard Green & Partners | $2.3B | $9.4B | On 25 July 2013 Activision Blizzard and an investor group announced the purchase of most of Vivendi's 61% stake in the games publisher for a combined US$8.2 billion at US$13.60 per share. Activision Blizzard itself repurchased about 429 million shares for US$5.83 billion, funded with US$1.2 billion of cash and US$4.6 billion of new debt, while ASAC II LP, an investment vehicle led by chief executive Bobby Kotick and co-chairman Brian Kelly, bought roughly 172 million shares for US$2.34 billion. ASAC's backers included Davis Advisors, Leonard Green & Partners, Tencent and a large unnamed global institutional investor, with Kotick and Kelly personally committing US$100 million. Vivendi retained about 83 million shares, or 12%, which it sold in 2014 and 2016, and Activision Blizzard became an independent company controlled by its public shareholders. The transaction closed on 11 October 2013 after a shareholder lawsuit was resolved. Activision Blizzard, publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Skylanders, had 2012 revenue of about US$4.9 billion. |
Who has invested in Activision Blizzard?
3 investors have backed Activision Blizzard across its funding rounds, including Tencent, Leonard Green & Partners and Davis Advisors.
Activision Blizzard Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Jul 2013 | |
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard has acquired 7 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Activision Blizzard was on October 28th 2021. Activision Blizzard acquired Digital Legends for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Activision Blizzard
| Description | Digital Legends is a Barcelona video-game development studio founded in 2001. It designs and produces mobile games, with particular experience in action titles and first-person shooters. The studio created proprietary technology and released games including The Respawnables while also collaborating with larger publishers on licensed projects. Revenue came from game publishing, development agreements and live-operation monetization across mobile platforms. The company built a specialist engineering and creative team with experience delivering high-performance games on constrained devices. Activision acquired Digital Legends in October 2021 to strengthen internal mobile development for the Call of Duty franchise. The studio continued operating from Barcelona as part of Activision's network of game-development teams. | - | Major League Gaming is a New York-headquartered esports network delivering competitive gaming broadcasts via MLG.tv, the MLG Pro Circuit for professional tournaments, and GameBattles matchmaking platform. The company streams events in titles like Call of Duty and Halo to audiences on web, mobile, consoles, and connected TVs globally. | King is a Swedish developer and publisher of casual games for mobile, web and social platforms, best known for the Candy Crush franchise. It was founded in 2003 as Midasplayer and adopted the King.com name in 2005. The company develops its titles in studios in Stockholm, London, Barcelona and other cities and distributes them free to play, earning revenue mainly from in-game purchases and advertising. It was backed by Apax Partners and Index Ventures, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 and was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2016. It became part of Microsoft when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023. | |
| HQ Country |  | | |  | |
| HQ City | Barcelona | - | New York City, NY | Stockholm | |
| Deal Date | 28 Oct 2021 | 25 Jan 2017 | 22 Dec 2015 | 2 Nov 2015 | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | $46M | $5B | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
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Activision Blizzard Competitors
Activision Blizzard competitors include listed companies like NetEase, Roblox, Konami and NEXON, and private ones like Moon Active and Epic Games.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tel Aviv | Private | $1.3B | - | $5B | 4.0x | |
 China | Publicly listed | $17B | $5.9B | $82B | 3.3x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $4.9B | ($1B) | $35B | 4.9x | |
 Japan | Publicly listed | $3.1B | $1.1B | $23B | 6.0x | |
| Cary, NC | Private | $5.7B | $730M | $23B | 3.9x | |
| Japan | Publicly listed | $3B | $719M | $14B | 3.3x |
Activision Blizzard Public Comps
Activision Blizzard is no longer listed, but its public comps include Nintendo, NetEase, Sea, Paramount Skydance, Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, Universal Music, Liberty Media, Konami and Disney.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $15B | $3.4B | 3.2x | 3.3x | 13.9x | 17.9x | |||
| $17B | $5.9B | 3.5x | 3.3x | 10.0x | 8.4x | |||
| $23B | $2.4B | 1.8x | 1.4x | 17.6x | 11.6x | |||
| $29B | ($5.1B) | 1.9x | 1.8x | (11.0x) | 14.8x | |||
| $6.7B | $431M | 6.2x | 5.2x | 95.9x | 27.3x | |||
| $4.9B | ($1B) | 6.9x | 4.9x | (33.8x) | 25.8x | |||
| $14B | $3B | 2.9x | 2.7x | 13.5x | 12.9x | |||
| $4.5B | $1.4B | 6.9x | 6.5x | 22.4x | 25.9x | |||
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Common questions about Activision Blizzard
| When was Activision Blizzard founded? | Activision Blizzard was founded in 2008. |
| Where is Activision Blizzard headquartered? | Activision Blizzard is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, United States. |
| Is Activision Blizzard publicly listed? | No, Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in January 2022. |
| Who acquired Activision Blizzard? | Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in January 2022. |
| How much was Activision Blizzard acquired for? | Activision Blizzard was acquired for $69B in January 2022, a 7.5x revenue multiple. |
| What is Activision Blizzard's valuation? | Activision Blizzard was last valued at $9.4B in its secondary sale in July 2013. |
| Who are Activision Blizzard's investors? | Activision Blizzard's investors include Davis Advisors, Tencent and Leonard Green & Partners. |
| What is Activision Blizzard's revenue? | Activision Blizzard's latest recorded revenue is $4.9B (July 2013). |
| What is Activision Blizzard's revenue multiple? | Activision Blizzard's latest valuation implies a 1.9x revenue multiple ($9.4B valuation on $4.9B of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Activision Blizzard? | Companies comparable to Activision Blizzard include Moon Active, NetEase, Roblox, Konami, Epic Games and NEXON. |
| How many companies has Activision Blizzard acquired? | Activision Blizzard has acquired 7 companies, including Digital Legends, Omniata, Major League Gaming, King.com and Budcat Creations. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Activision Blizzard? | The $5B acquisition of King.com in November 2015 is the largest acquisition Activision Blizzard has made to date. |
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