Warren Buffett buys into Activision weeks before Microsoft deal; Reliance Jio forms satellite internet venture with SES

Warrant Buffett bought a billion dollars worth of Activision Blizzard shares weeks before Microsoft announced its deal to acquire the gaming company, according to a regulatory filing by the billionaire investor’s company Berkshire Hathaway. Jio Platforms, the digital services unit of Reliance Industries, has formed a satellite internet JV. Separately, Jio will also invest $200 million in Glance. Notes: Warren Buffett buys stake in Activision weeks before Microsoft deal Warrant Buffett bought a billion dollars worth of Activision Blizzard shares weeks before Microsoft announced its deal to acquire the gaming company, according to a filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission by the billionaire investor’s company Berkshire Hathaway yesterday. Berkshire Hathaway purchased 14.7 million shares of Activision—maker of such games as the ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘World of Warcraft’—taking an almost 2 percent stake worth $975 million, at the end of December, Business Insider reports, citing the SEC filing. And in January, Microsoft announced its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal for $69 billion. Jio Platforms, SES form satellite internet joint venture Jio Platforms, the digital services unit of Reliance Industries, and SES, a satellite-based content connectivity solutions provider based in Luxembourg, yesterday announced the formation of a joint venture—Jio Space Technology Limited—to deliver satellite broadband services in India, Reliance said in a press release yesterday. JPL and SES will own 51 percent and 49 percent equity stake in the joint venture, respectively. The joint venture will use multi-orbit space networks that are combinations of geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations capable of delivering multi-gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers across India and neighbouring regions. Jio Platforms to invest $200 million in Glance Separately, in more Jio news, Jio Platforms is also investing $200 million in Glance Inmobi, a lock screen content and commerce platform provider. Glance will use the money to expand into the US, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, the company said in a press release. Glance will also integrate its lock screen tech into the JioPhone Next smartphones that Jio has launched with Google. Startup new — MFine, Bizongo, Slice, BiteSpeed MFine, a healthcare tech startup, has teamed up with Datar Cancer Genetics, a cancer research company to launch a cancer screening programme on the MFine app, the company said in a press release. MFine users will be able to book tests for various cancers as well as diabetes. Bizongo, a B2B ecommerce and supply chain enablement platform provider, completed its first share buyback from employees, in a programme worth $3.7 million, Bizongo said in a press release. And Slice, a fintech startup in the credit cards space, also announced its first share purchase plan for employees, worth about $8.6 million. BiteSpeed, a SaaS company that helps ecommerce businesses use conversational tech to reach customers, has raised $1.9 million in seed funding led by Sequoia India’s Surge, with participation from First Cheque, Whiteboard Capital and various angel investors. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds