Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.A) has cut a large portion of its stake in Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) as approval of its merger with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) edges closer.
The Nebraska-based company now only owns 1.9% of the video game publisher, according to a filing by Activision on Monday.
The investment conglomerate began upping its stake in the Call of Duty maker in 2022 and by the end of the year had a 6.7% share in the company.
By the end of March, when US regulator the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had confirmed its plans to block the deal, Berkshire’s stake had dropped to 6.3%.
Buffett’s company may have picked a good moment to sell too.
Activision’s share price has been closely following the results of multiple investigations into whether Microsoft’s US$69bn purchase of the World of Warcraft creator would reduce competition in the gaming industry.
When the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it would be blocking the deal at the end of April, the stock lost more than 10% of its value.
Similarly, in early July, when a US court told the FTC it would not be able to block the deal, Activision jumped around 10%.
Progress on the deal is moving quicker now, with Microsoft announcing a binding agreement with Sony, the biggest critic of the merger, to make sure Call of Duty remains available on Sony PlayStations.
As the deal gets closer, the share price is expected to edge closer towards Microsoft’s offer price of US$95 per share.
Shares in Activision are currently trading at around US$93 and are expected to open in the US on Tuesday around the same level as Monday’s close.