Back in 2016, AT&T announced its intention to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion, but this was challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2017 as they tried to block the takeover. While the matter was being worked on, another company raised money and was preparing to buy Time Warner itself if the deal stalled.
As you’ve already discovered (perhaps not too hard, given the title), that company is Activision Blizzard. That would effectively more than double their size, and it’s not entirely clear why they’d be interested.accepting VarietyIn an interview, Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick revealed the story, saying:
“We raised all the money and were prepared to act if AT&T couldn’t close the deal.
He also explains the thinking behind this:
“We’re going to turn their IP into games. They’re going to turn our IP into movies and TV, and we’re going to have a phenomenal company.
Time Warner (known today as Warner Bros. Discovery) owns a staggering number of franchises, including all of DC, plus video games like Mortal Kombat, which means they’ll be under the Activision Blizzard brand. It’s almost hard to imagine how different things would be in this case.
Things are still looking to change for the company today, as Microsoft is now trying to acquire Activision Blizzard. So far, 38 countries have approved the application, and the UK is the only country that has rejected it, which Microsoft will try to appeal. Reaching a deal through the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also expected to be difficult.
