Activision Blizzard video games buys King Digital for $5.9 bn

US video game producer Activision Blizzard announced late Nov. 2 that it was buying King Digital Entertainment, best known for its "Candy Crush Saga" mobile game, for $5.9 billion.

Activision, whose games include the "Call of Duty" series, said in a statement the purchase "will create one of the largest global entertainment networks with over half a billion combined monthly active users in 196 countries."  

California-based Activision has some of the best-known video game titles on the market, including "World of Warcraft," "Diablo," "Guitar Hero," "Skylander" and most recently "Destiny."  

Activision said it believes the addition of King's business, which it called highly-complementary, will position it "as a global leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console and PC platforms."  

It added that the move "positions the company for future growth."  

Since 2003 King Digital has "built one of the largest player networks on mobile and Facebook, with 474 million monthly active users in the third quarter (of) 2015," King CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in the joint statement.
 
The "Call of Duty" first-person shooter franchise is one of the best-selling console game series in the world, while "Candy Crush" is among the most popular games on mobile devices.
 
The purchase, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, has King's shareholders receiving $18.00 in cash per share "comprising a total equity value of $5.9 billion and an enterprise value of $5.0 billion," according to the statement.    

That represents a 20 percent premium over King's closing price on October 30, it added.    

Activision said it is using some $3.6 billion of offshore cash as well as a $2.3...