Dow Stock News: Apple Eyes Manchester United? FTC sees challenging Microsoft-Activision transaction

Apple (AAPL) is said to be interested in the UK football giants Manchester United (MANU). Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is expected to challenge the plan Microsoft (MSFT) repurchase Activating blizzard (ATVI).

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Apple-Manchester United?

The Daily Star reports that Apple could pay £5.8 billion ($7 billion) for Manchester United. Tech giant Dow Jones has no experience with owning a sports team, but CEO Tim Cook is said to have seen huge opportunities from such a deal.

Apple+ broadcasts Major League Soccer and Baseball Friday Nights. The award-winning Ted Lasso comedy is about an American football coach who runs a Premier League team.

The Glazers, bowing to their fans, recently agreed to put the Premier League football giant up for sale. They initially put an asking price of £8.25 billion.

Apple shares rose 0.6% to 151.07 on Wednesday stock market trading after recovering from the 50-day moving average on Tuesday. The Dow remains below its 200-day moving average.

Shares of Manchester United spiked 26% to 18.80 on Wednesday, a 13-month high. That’s after a nearly 15% gain on Tuesday.

FTC challenges Microsoft-Activision?

The Federal Trade Commission will likely try to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. That’s according to Politico, which said an antitrust lawsuit could happen in December. The FTC’s investigation into the Microsoft-Activision deal is not yet complete.

ATVI stock fell 3.8% in late Wednesday trading as reported by the FTC. Shares rose 0.9% to 76.59 in Wednesday’s trading. Activision shares were trading at a substantial discount from the purchase price of $95 a share due to regulatory concerns.

Antitrust regulators in Europe and China are also looking into Microsoft-Activision.

PlayStation maker sony (SONY) opposed the Microsoft-Activision deal, worried that Activision’s best-selling products like Call of Duty could become Xbox exclusives.

Microsoft stock edged higher late Wednesday. The Dow closed up 1% at 247.58.

Rent follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

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