Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is said to be negotiating to acquire Mojang, the company that makes the popular Minecraft game. Sources with inside knowledge of the ongoing talks have indicated that Microsoft, which makes Xbox games, is on discussions to acquire the company for $2 billion.
The success of Minecraft is believed to be behind the reason why Microsoft, the world’s leading software producer, wants to purchase the company. In 2013, Mojang made $100 million in profits and has sold more than 50 million copies of the game since 2009 when the company was launched.
“It’s one of the greatest success stories in gaming over the last 10 years,” said Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in New York, referring to Mojang. “They’ve sold a lot of copies of Minecraft over the Xbox.”
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been penetrating the gaming industry by developing games for both PC and its Xbox console. With competition coming from Sony PS and other game developers, acquiring Mojang will be a great leap towards having more control of the market.
A Mojang co-founder, Carl Manneh, had last year said that they are experiencing good cash flow thus an exit wouldn’t really be necessary.
“We are living the dream, really,” Manneh said. “An exit would be huge, but do we really need that money? In our case, we have the cash flow. We have more money than we need.”
Such an exit would therefore be a huge surprise to many who read the comment and to the many analysts who never saw that coming.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is said to have gone into the discussion after the two companies successfully worked together in the development of Minecraft for Xbox. Mojang founder Markus Persson is said to be the one looking into the details after the two companies agreed on estimates.
If Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) goes through with the deal, which is expected somewhere this week or next week, according to the sources, Microsoft shall have enormously increased its gaming market control.
This article has been written by Victor Ochieng.
“Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Others Played Their Cards Ahead of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone 6”
“Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Introduced Elite Class of Lumia Smartphones”
