By Vlad Schepkov

Puck.News reports that Electronic Arts (NASDAQ-:), the renowned publisher of video games such as Battlefield and Star Wars, is currently pursuing either a sale or merger.

An article published late Friday, May 20, 2022, claims that EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson and Electronic Arts “have held talks with a number of different potential suitors, including Disney (NYSE:), Apple (NASDAQ:) and Amazon (NASDAQ:),” as the company “has been persistent in pursuing a sale.”

Puck’s story further notes that EA had been deep into negotiations with Comcast’s (NASDAQ:) NBCUniversal and its CEO Brian Roberts, who pursued the potential transaction intending to eventually spin off the entertainment business into a combined (with EA), newly formed company – before the talks stalled over price.

If true, a potential Electronic Arts deal likely won’t surprise the market considering recent “big-name consolidations” in the gaming industry: Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:) got acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ:) for $69 billion, while Take-Two (NASDAQ:) picked up Zynga (NASDAQ:) for $12.9 billion. Andrew Uerkwitz from Jefferies notes, however that it is possible to make a deal within the next quarters.

When he comments about potential buyers, he says “ Disney and Apple ‘make little sense to us,’ while Amazon looks plausible”, and goes on to point out “Comcast spinning Universal into EA sounds very interesting, but likely much harder in reality vs. on paper.”

Still, he believes “Electronic Arts Inc’s stock likely has a floor given the possibility of a deal,” as he reiterates a “Buy” rating on the shares of the famed video maker.

EA is climbing over 4% higher in Monday’s early trade.