EA and Valve held talks over possible $1bn buyout, report claims

Talks about the proposed buyout of Valve at the hands of EA HAVE taken place, a new report claims.

Although it sounds as if the possibility of such a sale remains incredibly slim.

The New York Times reports that Valve has been pursued over the years by Electronic Arts, which would very likely have valued Valve at well over $1 billion had the talks progressed that far” according to two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private”.

So why should be tempering our excitement about such a colossal business deal? Valve is privately held and has never raised money from outside investors.

Put simply, co-owner Gabe Newell has no motivation to cut loose. In fact, he goes as far as to sale that it’s more likely to company would disintegrate” than ever be sold.

Added Newell: It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate.”