Amazon is not expected to make a suggestion to purchase Electronic Arts, sources instructed CNBC’s David Faber on Friday.
EA shares jumped greater than 4% in early buying and selling after USA Today reported Amazon would announce Friday that it plans to bid for the online game writer, which is understood for hit titles together with FIFA, Madden and Apex Legends.
Faber dismissed the report on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “There’s nothing occurring,” he mentioned, citing sources.
Representatives from Amazon and EA did not instantly reply to a request for touch upon USA Today’s report.
If Amazon had been to pursue EA in earnest, it may assist shore up the retail behemoth’s gaming presence. Amazon already owns Twitch, a streaming service common amongst avid gamers, has launched its personal cloud gaming service, called Luna, and it provides gaming perks as a part of its Prime loyalty program.
Amazon has been busy on the M&A entrance. Earlier this month, Amazon said it plans to purchase iRobot, finest recognized for its robotic vacuum Roomba, for $1.7 billion. The announcement got here simply two weeks after it said it might purchase boutique primary-care chain One Medical for $3.9 billion.
The gaming business has skilled some consolidation this yr. In January, Microsoft mentioned it might purchase Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal. And in May, Take-Two Interactive mentioned it might purchase Zynga for $11 billion.