Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who is a long-term friend of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, allegedly purchased a $1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard just weeks before the video game company was snapped up by the tech giant.
According to the Financial Times, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO purchased the substantial stake just weeks before the record-breaking $68.7 billion acquisition was completed.
Berkshire Hathaway purchased nearly 14.7 million shares of Activision Blizzard in the fourth quarter of 2021, a stake that was worth approximately $975 million at the time. However, the video game company is now trading at around $81.50 per share following the deal. Consequently, Berkshire Hathaway’s stake is now worth approximately $1.2 billion. The perfect timing of Hathaway’s purchase has led many to believe that Buffett had inside knowledge of the Microsoft-Activision deal.
Though he resigned in 2020, Gates sat on Berkshire Hathaway’s board for 16 years, while Buffett served as a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2006 to 2021. However, the pair’s relationship is not solely professional. On Buffett’s 90th birthday, Gates marked the occasion by sharing a video of himself baking a birthday cake for the Berkshire Hathaway CEO.
