EA to focus on smaller acquisitions

Electronic Arts has little interest in the kind of blockbuster acquisition that might have resulted in an EA/Take-Two merger last year, and is instead more open to smaller, more focused deals.

That's according to the publisher's CFO, Eric Brown, talking at the Pacific Crest Technology Leadership Forum yesterday, reports Reuters.

Specifically those smaller-scale acquisitions are likely to be in certain regions - notably Asia, which he says is "underweighted" in the company's revenue line-up.

Of most interest to EA would be deals that involved the publisher gaining a stronger grip on the consumer-to-consumer marketplace, by buying into franchises or online publishing techniques - with such companies likely to cost less that USD 1 billion.

The publisher recently reported its financial results, with an increase in losses thanks to a large segment of deferred revenue. The share price fell by 2 per cent across the day to sit at USD 20.34, with after-hours trading since then pushing it down by a further 1 per cent to USD 20.12.