Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) shares were boosted on Friday, helping to pare some losses seen recently for broader gaming-sector exchange traded funds (ETF), on speculation of a potential buyout deal is coming to the video game publisher.
Electronic Arts shares closed 3.5% higher on Friday, bucking the broader market sell-off seen across Wall Street following more hawkish remarks out of the Federal Reserve. The moves, in turn, helped raise shares of VanEck Vectors Gaming and eSports ETF (NASDAQ: ESPO) and Video Games & eSports ETF (NASDAQ: HERO)--which EA makes up over 5% of holdings for both--amid the market downturn.
The stock was boosted by rumors that several companies, notably including an alleged formal offer from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), were potentially looking to acquire Electronic Arts to beef up their gaming arm as the industry continues to grow. EA holds popular games such as "Maddon", "Battlefield", and "FIFA".
And the reports were not unfounded on Wall Street, with a string of recent gaming industry acquisitions over the past year adding to their credibility. These include Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) acquiring mobile game publisher Zynga for $12.7 billion and then Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) buying Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion--marking the largest buyout in gaming history.
Other companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) have also forayed into the industry, with the latter adding mobile games to its streaming service as it makes its own string of acquisitions. Moreover, Amazon already owns popular streaming platform Twitch and it's over cloud gaming service Luna, and already offers gaming perks under Prime memberships.
However, USA Today--the publisher that initially reported on the potential EA acquisition--rescinded the first article. The news outlet stated that the original story "violated [the outlet's] editorial standards regarding use of unnamed and unvetted sources".
CNBC's David Faber also damped the flames on Friday, stating that Amazon is not expected to bid on EA. Faber dismissed the USA Today report on the new outlet's "Squawk Box", stating "There's nothing going on," according to sources.
The video game sector has recently seen as drop in spending as global coronavirus lockdowns ease and consumers choose to spend more on entertainment outside the home. Currently, ESPO and HERO are down over 28% and 27% for their respective year-to-dates.