Activision Blizzard Agrees to Acquire King Digital Entertainment in $5.9 Billion Deal

By WSJ Staff

Videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) late Monday said it had agreed to acquire Candy Crush owner King Digital Entertainment PLC (KING) in a deal with a total equity value of $5.9 billion.

Under the deal, ABS Partners CV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of King for $18 in cash apiece.

Activision Blizzard said the deal would be accretive to its estimated 2016 adjusted revenue and earnings per share by about 30%.

The company said the deal represents a 20% premium over King's Oct. 30 closing price, a 23% premium over King's one-month volume weighted average price per share and a 27% premium over King's three-month volume weighted average price per share.

The company said the deal is subject to approval by King's shareholders and the Irish High Court and clearances by the relevant antitrust authorities and other customary closing conditions. Activision Blizzard said it expected the deal would be completed by spring 2016.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2015 23:11 ET (04:11 GMT)

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