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January 19, 2022, 12:15 AM
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Microsoft:
Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7B in cash, or $95/share, in FY 2023; Activision's stock, which closed last week at $65.39, jumps 25%+  —  Legendary games, immersive interactive entertainment and publishing expertise accelerate growth in Microsoft's Gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud.
More: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Activision Publishing, New York Times, CNBC, Kotaku, VentureBeat, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Microsoft, TechRadar, Financial Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, PYMNTS.com, PR Newswire, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Menagerie, the Newsletter, The Signal, Financial Times, Reuters, MSPoweruser, Blockworks, Ars Technica, LinkedIn, Engadget, TechCrunch, Cointelegraph, GeekWire, GameSpot, Reuters, IGN, Polygon, PC Gamer, Dexerto, Entechtainment, Digital Trends, CNBC, Input, Dot Esports, Game Rant, thegamer.com, Coinspeaker, Benzinga, MobileSyrup, Bitcoinist.com, Windows Central, Slate, dot.LA, and CNBC
Tweets: @dinabass, @xbox, @gregisenberg, @jasonschreier, @charlieintel, @satyanadella, @xbox, @wario64, @zhugeex, @jonerlichman, @microsoft, @jasonschreier, @damianburns, @edzitron, @ashleyesqueda, @adriennelaw, @ericnewcomer, @kristyt, @pucknorris, @anildash, @scottjohnson, @jasonschreier, @richlightshed, @mkbhd, @atvi_ab, @andrewrsorkin, @jasonschreier, @jasonschreier, @mattdpearce, @quantian1, @ibogost, @carnage4life, @varunmayya, @sarafischer, @9_volt_, @kcoxdc, @mrpointyhead, @hownottodraw, @vahn16, @turnernovak, @zhugeex, @tomwarren, @gw_alec, @martinsfp, @mattophobia, @technology, @reckless, @alexeheath, @silvermanjacob, @charlieintel, @eric_seufert, @technology, @byadamfitch, @tomwarren, @eric_seufert, @alexhern, @swiftonsecurity, @mealoneinmymind, @sarafischer, @laurakbuzz, @tomwarren, @silvermanjacob, @mckkirk, @eric_seufert, @shonaghosh, @ldignan, @chrismessina, @stroughtonsmith, @modestproposal1, @jonporty, @technology, @laurakbuzz, @laurakbuzz, @realbengilbert, @laurakbuzz, @pkafka, @neontaster, @webbemotional, @rmac18, @richlightshed, @bdsams, @dlberes, and @sonalibasak
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass has 25M subscribers, up from 18M in January 2021  —  Microsoft's all-you-can-eat catalog of games is getting bigger, and now it's adding Activision Blizzard  —  Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers.
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Following several game studio acquisitions, Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal faces a big regulatory hurdle with Lina Khan's antitrust-focused FTC  —  Microsoft-Activision is like Disney-Fox.  Maybe bigger.  —  Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Activision Blizzard tried to find other interested buyers, including Meta, as it weighed a potential Microsoft takeover after WSJ's exposé in November  —  Late last year, as Activision Blizzard Inc. and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick were reeling from accusations …
Andrew Asmakov / Decrypt:
Crypto.com halted withdrawals on Monday and required users to sign back in and reset 2FA; research shows it lost 4,600+ ETH, worth ~$15M, in a presumed hack  —  The crypto exchange has reportedly lost at least $15 million in Ethereum, and security experts believe the true losses could be much higher.
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Democratic lawmakers unveil the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, which would ban targeted ads but allow broad location-based and contextual ads  —  It could reshape the entire tech industry  —  On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use …
Wall Street Journal:
AT&T and Verizon temporarily restrict 5G expansion near US airports, but a few airlines will still suspend some flights on Wednesday amid Boeing's guidance  —  Flight suspensions occur even as AT&T and Verizon agree to limit signals within 2 miles of runways to address air-safety concerns
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
The FTC and DOJ seek public comment on how to rewrite “the antitrust laws regarding mergers”, signaling a potentially tougher stance toward Big Tech deals  —  - The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division kicked off a process to rewrite merger guidelines for businesses on Tuesday.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube says it's winding down YouTube Originals after six years and will only fund programs that are part of its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds  —  YouTube is getting out of the business of originals: The Google-owned video giant said it is winding down its original productions team after more than six years.
Jeffrey Knockel / The Citizen Lab:
China's MY2022 Olympics app, mandatory for attendees to report travel and health data, has serious encryption flaws and contains a censorship keyword list  —  Key Findings  — MY2022, an app mandated for use by all attendees of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, has a simple but devastating flaw …
Frank Chaparro / The Block:
OpenSea acquires crypto lending APIs startup Dharma Labs, which will shutter its wallet in 30 days; source says the deal was valued between $110M and $130M  —  Quick Take  — OpenSea confirms acquisition of Dharma Labs  — Dharma Lab's Hollander picked for CTO role
Kenrick Cai / Forbes:
Ironclad, which helps companies create and manage business contracts, raises a $150M Series E entirely from existing investors at a $3.2B valuation  —  Jason Boehmig spent two years as a lawyer in Silicon Valley, putting together documents for startups, before he had enough of the clunkiness of the job.
Kate Rooney / CNBC:
The US OCC and Federal Reserve approve SoFi's bid to become a bank holding company via its Golden Pacific Bancorp acquisition; SoFi stock jumps 16%+ after hours  —  - San Francisco-based SoFi got approval from its two key regulators to become a bank holding company.
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Walnut, a personalized product demo and analytics service, raises a $35M Series B and says its ARR has grown 700% since its $21M Series A in August 2021  —  In a world where software rules the roost and cloud spending has gone through the roof, SaaS has emerged as the default business model …
Kyle Alspach / VentureBeat:
Banyan Security, which offers a zero trust remote access client and saw a 300% increase in users in 2021, raises a $30M Series B led by Third Point Ventures  —  Banyan Security, which today announced raising $30 million in series B funding, said it saw a 300% increase in users in 2021 …
Aastha Maheshwari / DealStreetAsia:
Indonesia's Moladin, which pivoted to a used-vehicle marketplace in mid-2021, raises a $42M Series A co-led by Northstar Group and Sequoia Capital India  —  Moladin, an Indonesian marketplace for used cars and motorbikes, has announced the close of its $42 million Series A funding round …
Charlize Alcaraz / BetaKit:
Financial data and analytics startup Canalyst raises a $70M Series C led by Dragoneer Investment Group, bringing its total funding to over $100M  —  The round brings Canalyst's total funding to over $100 million.  —  Vancouver and New York-based Canalyst has raised $70 million USD …

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From Mediagazer

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News says Maria Bartiromo is no longer with Fox; Bartiromo's Mornings with Maria will be retitled Morning with Fox Business and employ a rotation of anchors

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
The FCC asks a court to throw out ABC's suit that claims the agency is using the regulatory process to abridge ABC's speech; a hearing is set the week of Oct. 5

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
An Athletic probe finds journalist Dianna Russini violated standards due to her relationship with an NFL coach but finds scant evidence it impacted coverage

More News

Tomer Ganon / CTech:
Source: Israeli police used NSO's Pegasus to monitor citizens, mayors, political protesters, and former government employees without warrants or court oversight

Earlier Picks

Joanna Ossinger / Bloomberg:
Animoca Brands, which publishes NFTs and games tied to blockchain platforms, raises $359M led by Liberty City at a $5B valuation, up from $2.2B in October 2021
Lucy Harley-Mckeown / The Block:
The UK government will increase its scrutiny of crypto advertising, bringing the marketing in line with other financial promotions, to avoid “misleading claims”
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Analysis: Meta has filed dozens of patents to monetize its metaverse, including a virtual store with sponsored items, eye and face tracking in headsets, more
Ashley Rodriguez / Insider:
Social Capital founder and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya says the “ugly truth” is “nobody cares about what's happening” to Uyghurs in China, himself included
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