The End of MegafundsRead more

Attendees at the 2018 E3 conference in Los Angeles walk past a booth for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Expresses Interest in Acquiring Warner Game Unit

By  |  July 6, 2020 11:35 AM PDT
Photo: Attendees at the 2018 E3 conference in Los Angeles walk past a booth for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft has expressed interest in acquiring the games division of Warner Bros., the publisher behind popular game franchises based on Batman, Harry Potter and other characters, according to two people familiar with the situation.

An acquisition of the business, which consists of game development studios scattered around the U.S., Canada and the U.K., would help Microsoft expand the game-making capabilities of its Xbox group. But Warner’s parent, AT&T, hasn’t yet decided whether to sell the business. It is weighing the possibility as it looks at ways of paying down its $154 billion in debt, which stems partly from its 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, now known as WarnerMedia. 

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk
Exclusive markets startups
A Reckoning Arrives for Creator Economy Startups
Two years ago, Dmitry Shapiro and Sean Thielen were so optimistic about the booming creator economy that they pivoted their startup to a new product: a simple tool called Koji that lets influencers more easily link to their online tip jars, merch and other services in their social media bios.
Photo by Getty.
Exclusive e-commerce
Why Shopify Ditched Its Amazon-Like Delivery Dreams
When Shopify last month announced the sale of its delivery operation, it was an abrupt reversal of a strategy to compete with Amazon it had spent four years and billions of dollars developing.
Photo by Getty
Exclusive amazon
AWS Cuts Ties With Fast-Rising Cloud-Sales Partner
Amazon Web Services has suddenly cut ties with a key firm that earns commissions for bringing new customers to AWS, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation.
Photo via YouTube/Google for Startups.
startups venture capital
Founders of Collapsed Job-Training Startup Misled VCs, Investor Alleges
In the span of a few months, Bitwise Industries, a job training startup that raised more than $100 million from investors including JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Kapor Capital, has gone from an unlikely success story with hundreds of employees to a firm near bankruptcy targeted by multiple lawsuits, including allegations that its founders committed fraud.
Image via Getty
Exclusive asia venture capital
U.S. Investors Are Bailing Out of China Funds
Sequoia Capital’s decision this week to split off its China operations showed the impact of growing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Photo by Getty
Dealmaker venture capital
The End of Megafunds
Megafunds may be a relic of another era in venture capital. That’s not a bad thing. Insight Partners has reduced the target of its next fund 25% to $15 billion, the Financial Times first reported this week.
Cookies on The Information
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping The Information reliable and secure, personalizing content and ads, providing social media features and to analyze how our sites are used.