Notícia quente.. Microsoft pode estar comprando a Electronic Arts

Notícia fez ações a EA subir mais de 8% Electronic Arts Rises on Speculation Game Company May Be Bought By Adam Satariano Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) — Electronic Arts Inc., maker of the “Madden NFL” video games, rose as much as 8.6 percent and call-option trading surged to a record on speculation the company may be purchased by Microsoft Corp. Electronic Arts jumped $1.45 to $19.97 at 1:55 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after reaching $20.12. Volume topped 17 million shares, compared with the 8.13 million daily average. Microsoft, which has $31.4 billion in cash and short-term investments, rose 28 cents to $26.05. Tech Trader Daily, operated by News Corp.’s Barron’s publication, citedspeculation that Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game console and “Halo” title, may be interested in buying the company. Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, has registered 10 straight quarters of net losses amid an industry slump and shrinking sales of its flagship “Madden NFL.” Jeff Brown, a spokesman for Electronic Arts, the second- largest game publisher behind Activision Blizzard Inc., said the company doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation. Microsoft spokesman Pete Wootton also declined to comment. Electronic Arts call-option trading surged to a record on the takeover speculation. More than 110,000 changed hands as of 1:06 p.m. in New York, eight times the full-day average during the past four weeks and an all-time high. The most-active contracts were October $20 calls, which surged 317 percent to $1.25. The company is worth $6.46 billion based on its current share price. Price cuts on consoles by Microsoft and Sony Corp., producer of the PlayStation 3, sparked U.S. retail sales of the machines in late August, according to NPD Group Inc., which tracks receipts. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, and the world’s largest software maker, began offering a $50 rebate on its Xbox yesterday, in addition to a $100 price cut on Aug. 27. Sony cut prices on the PlayStation 3 by a similar amount a week earlier.
fonte Bloomberg