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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC
Hello everyone, I hope you're enjoying a good summer. I've been laying low from the stock market as you guys have previously read. Some may say I've missed out on this year's rise in stocks and that is partially true. Many people don't know that the market has actually risen as a result of primary 7 stocks that have been very hot because of the latest buzzword AI - Artificial Intelligence. So if you've owned NVIDIA, MICROSOFT, META PLATFORMS (formerly FACEBOOK), APPLE, ALPHABET (aka GOOGLE), AMAZON, TESLA then you've done very well this year, however; all other stocks have just done BLAH.
So I've opted for the slow and less risky approach while the government tries to still cool down what has been referred to as an overheating economy. As interest rates have gone up, I've focused more on taking advantage of those increased interest rates to collect 4 to 5% on the cash I'm sitting on in my retirement and personal bank accounts. I have stayed invested in investment account, but I've not been overly active. So what has worked for me:
I've continued to rely on my Mansa Musa network of friends. If you're not sure what this network is about, just run a search on my blog and get familiar with this approach. When there is uncertainty in the air, I believe in strength in numbers and invest with friends. Just over a year ago my 93-year-old buddy Warren Buffett started buying shares in Activision Blizzard.
It Goes Down in the DM - Activision
I watched patiently after Microsoft slid into Activision DMs in January 2022 to the tune of $69 billion to hook up. As Buffett saw they were willing to 'put a ring on it', his company bought roughly 50 million. When we invest in companies hooking up, we hope they make it all the way to the alter. If you're a sports person, we hope the trade for the star player goes through. Two things subsequently happened that may me want to jump on board:
Back in May 2022, the stock market was falling and there was rumblings that these two were not going to make it to the alter. The trade might get cancelled. In the stock world, it's usually because US and international governments have to bless the deal to ensure it's not anticompetitive. This is like your parents blessing your marriage or the owners blessing the trade. This blessing was getting pushback in the US and UK. So there was VALUE as the stock dropped. What did I do, I decided to gamble with my Mansa Musa buddy Warren Buffet. I jumped in at the range of $69 - $75 a share.
I don't play poker but I and Warren Buffett were making a bet that the merger (aka hook up) would go through. If it did...if they made it to the alter the predetermined buyout price would be $95 a share. I like simplicity sometimes when I invest and I thought I was getting a discount on a great stock which I don't mind owning. The bonus or side bet is if this great stock gets the blessing to get married - then I get the guaranteed upside to $95 a share. In short Activision's stock should rise as long as Microsoft gets the blessing of it's parents (in the form of governments across the world). This got nasty like Real Housewives and went to court in the US, but the blessing finally happened. What happened to my simple thesis from over a year ago.
Don't believe me, well go back look for yourself:
May 2022: First Post on Activision: https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-stock-market-is-falling-will-i-be.html
July 2022: Second post: https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2022/07/inflation-stagflation-recession-either.html
