10 Mar, 2021

Disney+ exceeds 100M global subscribers; Microsoft closes $7.5B ZeniMax purchase

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By Hassan Aftab


TOP NEWS IN TMT

* The Walt Disney Co.'s streaming service Disney+ surpassed 100 million global paid subscribers in 16 months since its launch, CEO Bob Chapek said during Disney's virtual annual shareholders' meeting. In February, the streamer rolled out its entertainment brand Star in Australia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.

* Microsoft Corp. completed its previously announced $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media Inc., the parent company of Bethesda Softworks LLC, a privately held game developer and publisher. In announcing the deal closure, Xbox head Phil Spencer said certain Bethesda games in the future will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.

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➤ M&A Replay: Media, telecom M&A activity declines in February despite billion-dollar deals

M&A deal volume among U.S. and Canadian media and telecommunications companies fell 16.4% year over year in February even though the sector saw three deals that crossed the billion-dollar mark during the month.

➤ M&A Replay: Bidding war boosts February infotech deal activity while Uber delivers again

February notched another year-over-year gain in information technology M&A deal activity, but with a record year behind and stock market declines underfoot, it is unclear how much longer the sector can post gains.

1st-time acquisitions of digital businesses expected to continue in 2021

First-time acquirers announced plans in 2020 to purchase more than $34 billion worth of ventures within internet and e-commerce subcategories such as digital classifieds, news and gaming.

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TECHNOLOGY

* A federal judge in New York denied Apple Inc.'s effort to force a privacy suit to be resolved in arbitration. Two T-Mobile US Inc. customers previously alleged that after activating prepaid lines through T-Mobile, their respective Apple accounts were both associated with the same number.

* French venture capitalist lobby France Digitale filed a complaint against Apple over alleged privacy violations regarding one of its advertising tools, Bloomberg News reported. Apple said its App Tracking Transparency feature, an upcoming update to the iOS 14 OS, would limit user tracking for all developers including Apple.

* Russian authorities filed lawsuits against Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC, Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc., Beijing Byte Dance Telecommunications Co. Ltd.'s TikTok Inc. and Telegram Messenger LLP for allegedly not taking down posts urging children to participate in illegal protests, Reuters reported, citing Interfax news agency.

* Online entertainment platform Roblox Corp. expects to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange today. Roblox, which previously postponed its IPO plan amid SEC scrutiny, said it intends to register the resale of up to 198,917,280 shares for a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $169.1 million.

* IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. is in discussions to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company LGL Systems Acquisition Corp., Bloomberg News reported, citing sources. The potential merger is expected to bring the combined company's valuation at about $1.2 billion following the transaction.

* Epic Games Inc. filed a lawsuit against Google in the Federal Court of Australia, extending its legal battle against the tech company. The video game developer alleged that Google misused its dominance over the Android OS and limited competition in payment processing and app distribution on its Play Store.

* Artificial intelligence solutions provider Veritone Inc. is considering potentially selling the company or receiving backing from external investors, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources. Veritone is keen to look into possible transactions that would value the company at more than $70 per share, although no final decision has been made.

INTERNET AND OTT

* Twitter sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for opening a probe into its content moderation practices after the platform banned former President Donald Trump. The complaint claims Paxton demanded Twitter to provide "highly sensitive" documents about content policies as part of the probe, in apparent retaliation for the ban.

* LinkedIn Corp. is temporarily pausing new member sign-ups in China as it works to ensure continuing compliance with local law. The enterprise social networking platform said it remains committed to helping create economic opportunities for its members in China.

* Zoom Video Communications Inc. founder and CEO Eric Yuan transferred nearly 18 million shares worth about $6 billion to unspecified recipients, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a securities filing. The shares represented roughly 40% of Yuan's stake in the video communications platform.

PUBLISHING

* Buzzfeed Inc. announced job cuts for the HuffPost newsroom following its acquisition of the brand from Verizon Communications Inc.'s Verizon Media, HuffPost reported. The layoffs, which affect HuffPost Executive Editor Hillary Frey and Executive Editor for International Louise Roug, are part of a restructuring process designed to limit financial losses.

FILM AND TV

* After skidding precipitously during the early days of COVID-19, Fox Corp.'s local TV station business has rallied nicely, according to CFO Steven Tomsic. From an advertising perspective, "It does feel like COVID as being an issue is well and truly behind us," Tomsic said.

* When Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. launches its new direct-to-consumer sports services in 2022, the plan calls for the programming roster to include live games part of its local market rights. President and CEO Chris Ripley said he "can't imagine us launching next year without some amount of live games."

* Disney's Chapek said Disney will reopen parks with limited capacity by late April, with an opening date to be announced in the coming weeks. Chapek cited "positive trends" in California, where parks have been allowed to open from April 1.

* Vice president of news for Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s NewsNation (US), Jennifer Lyons, stepped down, Variety reported, citing a company statement. The departure reportedly follows lower-level resignations that seem to stem from concerns over the network's alleged right-wing inclination.

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