Discordia closes $ 10 billion, plus sales talks with Microsoft

This story was originally published 2021/03/23
3:59 am PDTon March 23, 2021 and last update 2021/04/21
2:19 am PDTon April 21, 2021.

When the news broke that Discord had spoken to Microsoft about a $ 10 billion plus sale, people were quickly worried that it might come out as the acquisition of Redmond Skype in 2011. The communication platform gradually turned into a piece of software swollen, buggy, which is almost impossible. to close Windows. It seems that Discordia may not have to face that fate, after all. Starting a game-focused chat stopped discussions with Microsoft and other stakeholders.

The Wall Street Journal writes that “according to people familiar with the matter,” Discord has stopped talking to Microsoft, but is still interested in a potential initial public offering at some point. However, a sale is not yet completely off the table. The WSJ reports that the parties could meet again and re-agree later.

Bloomberg initially reported that Discord spoke with several potential buyers, including Amazon and Epic Games, but no sales were imminent. People thought that Discord would be more likely to be public than sold, so the discussions were as preliminary as possible. However, Bloomberg sources claimed that Discord initially contacted Microsoft, not the other way around.

If an agreement comes together at some point, Discord could stay focused on gaming and become part of Xbox’s social features – unlike Skype, which Microsoft now includes as a business tool for enterprises. That’s probably why Discord spoke with Xbox boss Phil Spencer and not with the company’s business department.