Apple (AAPL) reportedly is interested in U.K. soccer giant Manchester United (MANU). Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission reportedly will challenge the planned Microsoft (MSFT) acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI).
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Apple-Manchester United?
Apple could pay 5.8 billion pounds ($7 billion) for Manchester United, the Daily Star reported. The Dow Jones tech titan has no experience with owning a sports team, but CEO Tim Cook reportedly sees big opportunities from such a deal.
Apple+ airs Major League Soccer, as well as Friday Night Baseball. Its award-winning comedy Ted Lasso is about a U.S. football coach running a Premier League soccer team.
The Glazers, bowing to fans, recently agreed to put the Premier League soccer giant up for sale. They initially set an asking price of 8.25 billion pounds.
Apple stock rose 0.6% to 151.07 in Wednesday’s stock market trading after rebounding from its 50-day moving average on Tuesday. The Dow stock is still below its 200-day moving average.
Manchester United stock skyrocketed 26% to 18.80 on Wednesday, a 13-month high. That’s after surging nearly 15% on Tuesday.
FTC To Challenge Microsoft-Activision?
The Federal Trade Commission is likely to try to block Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. That’s according to Politico, which says an antitrust suit could come in December. The FTC investigation of the Microsoft-Activision deal is not yet complete.
ATVI stock fell 3.8% in late trading Wednesday on the FTC report. Shares rose 0.9% to 76.59 in Wednesday’s regular session. Activision stock has traded at a significant discount to the $95-a-share purchase price due to regulatory concerns.
Antitrust regulators in Europe and China also are reviewing Microsoft-Activision.
PlayStation maker Sony (SONY) has objected to the Microsoft-Activision deal, worried that Activision top sellers such as Call of Duty could become exclusive to the Xbox.
Microsoft stock edged higher late Wednesday. The Dow stock closed up 1% at 247.58.
lease follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
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