Activision and EA: Are they going to buy ‘Mortal Kombat and Rocksteady’s parent?

Batman Arkham and NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat) is reportedly up for sale! According to CNBC sources, Warner’s parent company AT&T is currently discussing a potential sale that could fetch around $4 billion, if completed. AT&T acquired Time Warner for $109 billion in 2018, and has around $165 billion in debt. Investors recently called for Warner to sell off many of its non-core assets! AT&T’s management may no longer be wiling to fund huge multi-million dollar games projects, and is trying to find a buyer for its massive Warner Bros. Games division. It’s not that WB Games aren’t profitable–Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game in April 2019 in the US, and has been on the top 10 list. The WB Games sell off may happen due to a divestiture (when a company sells a subsidiary). Only a few days back, Elliott Management laid a huge $2.3 billion stake in AT&T and called for the company to sell off non-vital assets like DirectTV. WB Games may also be seen as a non-vital asset.

Take-Two, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard have all expressed interest in buying the gaming division, according to CNBC, but no deal has been finalised yet.

WB Games has ownership of some of the biggest IPs in the industry. WB Games owns Batman (and all DC games for that matter), Harry Potter, including the lucrative Wizard’s Unite mobile game, and of course Mortal Kombat, a titanic franchise that’s stood the test of time. Any publisher would be lucky to grab these IPs and their established studios. A huge stake to be owned!