James Delahunty
24 Sep 2009 19:59
Microsoft has dismissed rumors that the company is planning to bid for game publisher Electronic Arts. "We have no plans to acquire EA," Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, told Reuters. "They remain a very important partner to us. No acquisitions."
Shares in Electronic Arts jumped 8 percent on speculation that the software giant was interest in acquiring the company.
Spencer declined to comment to Reuters on whether Microsoft and Electronic Arts have had held talks at some point about such a move. EA tried and failed last year to buy up rival Take Two Interactive. The Madden maker is often named as a target for Time Warner and Walt Disney Co. by traders.
The Redwood-city publisher has a market value of roughly $6.5 billion.