Weekly Market Update - 15 May 2023

Not Quite Over

Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard won European Union approval, putting the bloc at odds with its UK and US counterparts. The European Commission said its own analysis showed the deal wouldn’t hurt competition after Microsoft vowed to let cloud rivals offer titles such as Call of Duty on their own platforms for 10 years. The approval means the fate of the deal now hinges on the company winning legal challenges in the US and UK — likely an uphill task.

Source: Bloomberg

Thai Military Rebuke

Thailand’s pro-democracy parties notched a resounding victory in Sunday’s election, setting up the biggest challenge to the royalist-backed establishment since the military seized power in a coup nearly a decade ago. With 97% of the vote counted, the liberal Move Forward party and the Pheu Thai party, linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, were neck-and-neck. Together they were projected to win more than 280 of the 500 seats in the lower house. But with neither securing an outright victory, the coming days will likely be filled with high-stakes jockeying over who should lead the next government.

Source: Bloomberg

Mega Gold Mines

Newcrest Mining has agreed to a takeover deal with Newmont worth about A$28.8 billion ($19.2 billion) to create the world’s biggest gold producer. The enlarged Newmont will have gold assets in North and South America, Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Gold miners worldwide are facing the prospect of stagnating production, harder-to-mine deposits and rising input costs — challenges seen as a catalyst for more mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to increase size to boost production and improve efficiency.

Source: Bloomberg