Last week, Microsoft purchased one of the biggest gaming publishers in history, Activision Blizzard. Despite Activision Blizzard’s controversial last couple of months, with CEO of the company, Bobby Kotick, having numerous misconduct claims against him, Microsoft still purchased the mega-company. It is estimated that Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $68.7 billion, making it one of the biggest investments in gaming history. 

Of course, the investment was not for Microsoft but rather its gaming faction, Xbox. Xbox will use the acquisition to gain access to franchises such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. In the gaming world, Xbox’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is a monumental move to fight its rival PlayStation by buying up franchises and cornering off the market. Xbox and Microsoft are starting to become a monopoly in gaming which could be dangerous in the long run. 

Nevertheless, it is a huge win for Xbox. This acquisition is perhaps the largest in recent memory but just one of the many acquisitions in the business world. Small businesses and enterprises, every day, are getting acquired or are acquiring other companies in the hope of boosting their growth. This issue of DDintel will cover the fundamentals of acquisition, laying out what the Xbox Activision Blizzard acquisition means and how startup CEO’s can navigate the treacherous waters of investment to get a win-win situation for their companies. This issue of DDintel will cover this and more. We hope you enjoy it.

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It is easy to waste all of your hard-earned money and investments by simply spending it on a fancy new purchase or a flat-screen TV. However, snowballing your investments where the money you make from one investment gets invested into another help you make more cash. Marx D outlines in his article how snowballing investments may lead to greater returns through what is known as the snowball effect. It is a great way to boost profits and ensure that you don’t waste your investments. Unlike its namesake, it won’t freeze your assets rather warm them up for future buying.

I know what you are thinking. I’ve invested in Bitcoin. Now my investment has fallen off a cliff. Well, you are not the only one. Over the last month, Bitcoin has continued to dive, dive further, and you guessed it dive even more. Currently, the price of bitcoin has halved since late last year, with the coin sitting well under the $40,000 mark.

Consequently, many have lost investment. But is there hope? Will all your bitcoin investments eventually dry up? Well, Sauarbh Adhane doesn’t think so. He suggests sticking with Bitcoin and believing in it in the long run. He has definitely convinced me!

Perhaps this week’s biggest piece of financial news was the purchase of video game publisher Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. In a crazy turn of events, Microsoft did the impossible and bought one of the world’s biggest and most successful video game publishers and game developers. Activision Blizzard is known for being the publisher of some of the world’s biggest games, including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. 

Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for a staggering $68.7 billion, making the acquisition one of the biggest in history. The investment caught many by surprise in the gaming industry, changing the literal game (sorry for the pun) between Xbox and PlayStation in terms of console exclusivity. The above article by Daniel G. Jennings explains more about this great investment outlining how much money Xbox may make from this deal, you guessed it. It is going to be billions!

An acquisition is probably the most important decision a startup CEO can make. If you make the wrong moves, it can lead to eventual disaster in the long run. When a startup wants to acquire or is getting acquired, there are a few things CEO’s and business leaders can do to ensure that the acquisition results in a win-win for both the startup and the other company. Amit Garg goes more into detail about startup acquisitions, outlining five ways startups can get a win-win. If you are a CEO or owner, this article is worth reading. Likewise, even if you own a large corporation or enterprise, the above article will be useful. The article summarizes many points applicable to large businesses and much larger acquisitions.

Due to the proliferation of the internet and the accessibility of new job roles on the market, Gen Z and new Millennials are always open to new job opportunities. The point is young people are changing positions constantly. The abundance of job websites such as Linkedin and Indeed is not helping matters either. Tavian Jean-Pierre, in his latest feature piece, goes into further detail about why this is. He concludes that it is due to a lack of managing expectations.

When you are releasing a new project or program to market, you need to have an efficient and effective program structure and plan to make its transition to market seamless. A program management life cycle is how you can do this. It has several phases that need to be followed to ensure that you can achieve the specific benefits you need from your program and reach its desired outcomes. Sorin Dumitrascu explains a program management life cycle and how you can use one to improve your product and program. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it may seem, so you must read this article if you are trying to get a program/product out to market.

Politics is complicated, multifaceted and often divisive. That is why it is important to include it in a newsletter like this! The Moral Economist, in his great article, explains why the Federal Reserve of the United States is politically non politically correct. He argues that despite trying to be non-political, it creates asset bubbles that burst and become highly political events in the process. A brilliant piece!

The Great Crumbling, and no, we are not talking about the delicious apple crumble you have on that side table of yours. We are talking about the crumbling of civilization. Well, at least Jerry Lawson is. In his sobering yet thought-provoking article, Jerry explains how the world as we know it is crumbling. But instead of trying to stop deterioration, we ignore it due to our material possessions and obsession with things like our phones. Jerry explains passionately why in his article. It is another brilliant read that just made me guilty for picking up my smartphone!