Microsoft is in talks to acquire popular game chat app Discord, according to insider reports, in what many are tipping to be a rich deal worth over $10 billion.
Discord has been fielding offerings from potential suitors for the better half of March, Bloomberg reports. Leading these talks is Microsoft Corp. who has expressed growing interest in adding the server-based chat program — mainly popular with gamers and multiple esports teams and leagues — to their massive app and program stable.
Insiders suggest “no deal is imminent” just yet.
Those close to the deal have told Bloomberg that they are “more likely to go public” than accept any sale offer, but are testing the waters for a potential handover.
Microsoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer is allegedly heavily involved in the ongoing Discord discussions. The brand vice-president recently brokered a monster deal that saw Microsoft acquire Skyrim and Fallout creators Bethesda for $7.5 billion.
While the $10bn valuation seems lofty for a free chatting service, Venture Beat previously reported buyers were already inquiring about the program at a sum around that mark, with many others quietly licking their lips.
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Only last December, Discord raised $140 million at an inked-in $7bn valuation, according to data found on the Prime Unicorn Index. It also raised $100m in July.
Discord is considered by many suitors as a “strategic asset” due to its ever-growing popularity among gamers who use the program for audio and text chats. The San Francisco-based program also experienced a super-sized spike across 2020, as non-gamers took to its channels to host parties, classes, gatherings, and more.
“I know they are in discussions with a select few parties,” one insider said. “The market is in a state where they could command strong double-digit billions.”
Ultimately, reports suggest, the decision to sell Discord — for a hefty $10 billion, or another sum entirely — will fall on the shoulders of chief executive Jason Citron.
Microsoft lead talks, but two people close to the situation have also tipped Fortnite developers Epic Games and technology company Amazon as two more tech giants that have waded into early sale discussions with the chatting app.
Discord has yet to publicly comment on the sale rumors. Dexerto will update you on any further developments surrounding the reported $10 billion takeover.
