Warren Buffet said Berkshire Hathaway had “no prior knowledge” that Microsoft was working on a $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard before the conglomerate bought a stake in the videogame maker.
In a letter released by Buffett’s office on Thursday, Buffett said that one of his investment managers paid about $77 a share for the 14.7 million Activision shares (ticker: ATVI), acquiring about 85% of his position in October and the rest in November.
The investment was made “independently of me,” Buffet said. The contents of the letter were reported by Reuters.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) purchased 14.7 million shares of Activision in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the end of last year, those shares were valued at $975 million, according to the filing.
Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) announced on Jan. 18 that it would buy Activision — the creator of “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” — in its biggest ever acquisition in the technology sector.
Activision’s share price rose 25.4% on the day the Microsoft deal was announced. The stock traded above $75 for most of October, but fell 15% during the final two months of the year amid accusations of discrimination and harassment at Activision. The stock has risen 21.7% this year, closing at $81.50 on Thursday.
Buffet said in the letter his investment manager could have bought the stake after the Microsoft takeover of Activision was announced when the game maker sometimes traded at around $78 a share.
“His purchase was no bonanza of any sort for him or Berkshire,” Buffett wrote in the letter.
Write to Lina Saigol at [email protected]
