Shares of Sony Corporation closed 5.9% down in Japan today, following financial service company Credit Suisse Group AG’s downgrade of their stock rating from “neutral” to “underperform”
Now that Activision and Blizzard have a set a July date for their merger to be put up to final shareholder vote, it’s time for the game industry analysts to do what they do best – analysing. Lazard Capital analyst Colin Sebastian doesn’t just think the joining of the two will form a big game company…he says they’ll be the best, at least from a financial point of view.
“We believe the transaction is set to create a formidable new digital media powerhouse and the most valuable interactive entertainment company worldwide, unlocking the value of industry juggernaut World of Warcraft, and possibly also setting a new benchmark for profit margins among publicly traded video game pure-plays”
Along with the rosy outlook, Sebastian is raising the company’s target price (the price at which buyers will purchase the stock) from $AU 34.78 to $AU 42.16. Activision Blizzard formation set for July 8 [GamesIndustry.biz]
