Amazon is reportedly acquiring EA, with an announcement set to drop today [UPDATE]
Looks like Amazon isn't going to make a bid for Electronic Arts after all.
Update: It appears Amazon is not in the market to purchase EA despite earlier reports.
This is according to sources speaking with CNBC, stating that no, Amazon is not going to announce an EA acquisition today.
The initial acquisition report came from gaming and eSports outlet GLHF, a content partner of USA Today's For The Win. FTW has since updated the story.
Such news wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility, as rumors from earlier in the year stated EA was looking for a buyer. The firm reportedly held discussions with Disney, Amazon, and Apple, but only talks with Comcast-NBCUniversal were confirmed.
The original story follows.
Original: We may be hours away from the biggest news of the week. According to a new report, Amazon is close to announcing a deal to acquire EA later this Friday.
The report does not say how much the deal is going to be worth, only that Amazon has officially made an offer.
The news comes via a USA Today report, citing sources familiar with the matter. That's pretty much the extent of the information available today, but it's not actually surprising considering recent news.
EA has reportedly been looking for an acquisition from a bigger company for some time. Disney, Apple, Comcast, and Amazon were all cited as potential buyers, and it looks like Amazon's bid won out.
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has left EA, and Ubisoft as the last two major Western publishers in the business who operate independently. If the report is true, Ubisoft will become the only major Western publisher to remain independent.
EA's business is mainly reliant on microtransactions from FIFA, Madden and its popular sports games on consoles. Apex Legends is the publisher's biggest non-sports title, a free-to-play shooter that continues to be popular, and continues to generate revenue for EA.
The rest of the company's major franchises, such as Battlefield, and Need for Speed, have been underperforming for years.