Microsoft’s Activision Deal Adds “Strategic Glue” To Its Xbox Platform

Microsoft closed its Activision acquisition. As we wrote on August 7th – Activision will add strategic glue to MSFT’s Xbox platform by adding hit gaming content such as the Call of Duty franchise.

• We are fans of vertical acquisitions. The complementary pieces – once combined – have the ability to differentiate the acquiring company from its competition. See our previous article on Strategic Glue HERE.

• There are a number of publicly-traded Technology companies that understand how to increase Customer Value and Enterprise Value by acquiring companies that provide Strategic Glue, thereby strengthening the core business. We have previously mentioned Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL) and my old shop (Solera Holdings) as examples of Technology companies that understand how to drive value by way of executing differentiated M&A transactions. Additional examples include S&P Global (SPGI), CoStar Group (CSGP) and Ansys (ANSS) to name several.

  ---