Microsoft may buy Netflix in 2023

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been snapping up new companies at an impressive rate, and in 2023 he could very well try to buy streaming giant Netflix. About it writes Reuters.

Since his ascension to CEO in 2014, Nadella has been making big purchases. It all started with the acquisition of the company behind the hit game Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Microsoft later bought LinkedIn for $26 billion and speech recognition and AI software developer Nuance for $20 billion. The largest deal with Activision Blizzard cost $69 billion.

Now Microsoft and Netflix are already closely connected. The former is acting as an advertising partner for a new ad-supported subscription service. And Microsoft President Brad Smith also sits on the board of directors for Netflix.

For Microsoft, this purchase would make sense as the company wants to offer a video game streaming service on several of its devices, writes Reuters. And Netflix has big plans for its gaming division. In 2022, the company acquired developer Spry Fox, its sixth in-house studio. And becoming part of the Microsoft empire would strengthen those ambitions.

With a market value 13 times that of Netflix, as of early December, Microsoft could well afford to buy the platform. Whether regulators will approve such a deal is still a big question. The company has not yet received approval to purchase Activision Blizzard.