The takeover of activision blizzard by microsoft: an analysis from a valuation perspective - impact of CSR performance on takeover premia and acquirer returns in public takeovers: a study on Europe and North America

Abstract

This work project determines the fair value of Activision Blizzard, Inc., one day before the acquisition announcement by Microsoft Corporation on January 18, 2022. The valuation, encompassing various intrinsic methods, including a synergies analysis, comparable companies and transactions analyses, and a sum-of-the-parts valuation, suggests that Microsoft Corporation overpaid for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. Moreover, a regression analysis on public M&A transactions in Europe and North America is conducted, finding a significant relationship between CSR scores and both M&A premia and cumulative abnormal returns for targets and acquirers around the acquisition announcement.