Editor’s Note: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO)
Activision Blizzard, Inc. Announces Pricing of Private Offering of $2.25 Billion of Senior Notes (DailyFinance)
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) (the “Company”) announced today it has priced $1,500 million aggregate principal amount of 5.625% senior notes due 2021 (the “2021 Notes”) and $750 million aggregate principal amount of 6.125% senior notes due 2023 (the “2023 Notes” and, together with the 2021 Notes, the “Notes”). The offering is expected to close on or about September 19, 2013. The Notes will be the general senior obligations of the Company and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior basis by certain of the Company’s U.S. subsidiaries. The Notes and related guarantees will not be secured.
Examining Block Trading Activity and Options for Zynga (AVAFIN)
Block trades offer useful, insightful data used by both large and small investors to determine if their stock trade will be profitable. By the end of today’s trading session, financial institutions exchanged 147 block trades. A total of 1,244,349 shares were bought and 1,200,452 shares were sold forming a bought/sold ratio of 1.04 for Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA). A deeper look into options trading also reveals that traders hedged their positions with options where 3,788 put and 12,709 call contracts exchanged hands leading to a 0.30 put/call ratio.
Sector Snap: EA sales lag weighs on game makers (Businessweek)
Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) and other video game stocks fell Friday, after the company reported sales for its latest “Madden NFL” game that were lower than last year’s version. A Brean Capital analyst added pressure to the sector, cautioning investors about buying video game stocks, saying that they may fall since the group is already “priced to perfection.” He noted that Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) shares are up 91 percent since the start of the year, while Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) shares have added 62 percent and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) has gained 69 percent.
High Yield Bond Volume Surges To $13B Behind Activision (Forbes)
High yield bond issuance soared to $13.1 billion this week as the U.S. speculative grade market picks up steam. Indeed, this has been the busiest week for junk bond issuance since the middle of May, and is the third-busiest week of 2013, according to LCD’s Jon Hemingway. Leading the way this week was a $2.25 billion offering related to Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s purchase of Vivendi’s majority stake in the video game company. The BB+/Ba2 deal priced to yield 5.625% and 6.125% (there were two tranches), inside of initial price talk, indicating market demand, says Hemingway.
EA Details Next-Gen Upgrade Offers for Battlefield 4 Current-Gen (Exophase)
It’s been mentioned before that Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) would be working with retail partners to facilitate ways for customers to upgrade their copy of Battlefield 4 on PS3 or Xbox 360 to a next-gen copy while saving some cash. Today, the company has provided a laundry list of all the offers it has lined up, most of which entail trading in your current copy for store credit. Notably, if you plan on going the digital route, Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s offering stands out among the rest. Simply input a code found on specially-marked PS3 copies, and get the PS4 version of BF4 for $9.99. No trade-ins necessary.
Titanfall | Campaign Multiplayer Mode and Game Creation | FTW September 2013
(Youtube, EA)
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