Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought almost $1 billion in Activision shares in the fourth quarter of 2021, just months before Microsoft announced plans to acquire the video game company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
Berkshire Hathaway owned over 14 million shares of Activision stock, valued at roughly $975 million, as of the end of 2021, according to an SEC filing. (RELATED: Microsoft Will Review Sexual Harassment Investigation Of Bill Gates, Others)
Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision on Jan. 18 in a deal worth almost $70 billion, the largest purchase by a U.S. technology company ever. Shortly after the deal was announced, Activision’s stock price jumped as much as 25%, CNBC reported.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft President Brad Smith, speak during the 2016 Microsoft Annual Shareholders Meeting in Bellevue, Washington. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Should the acquisition go through, Berkshire Hathaway will likely net a significant profit. Microsoft agreed to purchase Activision for $95 dollars a share, well above the company’s stock price in the fourth quarter of 2021, which hit a low of roughly $56, according to CNBC.
However, the deal is likely to face significant regulatory scrutiny; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the acquisition for possible anticompetitive conduct, according to a report by Bloomberg. Regulators will likely examine how the number of video game titles Microsoft would gain would affect the video game market, and it will scrutinize Microsoft’s ability to parlay its market dominance to grow its subscription business, according to several antitrust experts.
Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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