Ahead of MS 'Big Deal' Announcement... Buffett Buys Over 1 Trillion Won Worth of Blizzard Shares

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
[Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Berkshire Hathaway, led by 'the Sage of Omaha' Warren Buffett, has been confirmed to have purchased a large amount of Blizzard stock ahead of Microsoft (MS)'s announcement to acquire the gaming company Activision Blizzard.

According to CNBC on the 14th (local time), Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it purchased Blizzard shares in the fourth quarter of last year, revealing that as of the end of last year, it held 14.66 million shares of Blizzard. Converted into monetary value, this amounts to approximately $975 million (about 1.1685 trillion KRW).

Berkshire Hathaway acquired Blizzard shares before MS announced its $68.7 billion acquisition of Blizzard in mid-last month. MS's acquisition of Blizzard set a record as the largest IT industry merger and acquisition (M&A) in history. CNBC predicted that once MS's acquisition of Blizzard is finalized, Chairman Buffett is expected to earn substantial profits.

Blizzard's stock price surged 25% after MS's acquisition announcement but then slightly declined, closing at $81.50 on the day. Blizzard's stock price had fallen due to lawsuits and investigations by authorities following revelations of sexual harassment by company executives and a male-dominated workplace culture.

Chairman Buffett is a longtime friend of Bill Gates, the founder of MS, who served as a director of both MS and Berkshire Hathaway until early 2020. Buffett served as a director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation until last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.