Discord Walks Away from Microsoft Deal, Likely to go Public
Nearly a month after reports suggested that Microsoft is looking to acquire Discord, the messaging platform has ended sales talks with the software giant. According to sources close to the company, Discord is primarily focusing on growing its business as a standalone entity and chalking its path to its own IPO.
SEE ALSO: Microsoft in Early Talks to Buy Discord for over $10 Billion
Microsoft’s interest in Discord
Just about a month ago, Microsoft and Discord were in talks regarding a potential acquisition of Discord, valued at around $10 billion. However, Discord walked away from the talks by rejecting a $12 billion bid made by Microsoft, to focus on growing independently.
Microsoft was leaning towards the acquisition due to a growing interest in online and gaming activities. Further, the acquisition would enable the company to improve engagement with its online Xbox community.
Sources who have been closely tracking the story have claimed that Twitter had also expressed interest in buying Discord. In the past, Discord also held talks with Epic Games and Amazon to discuss a potential acquisition.
Over the past few weeks, a number of companies have held talks to discuss an investment in Discord, with some, valuing the company at $15 billion to $18 billion.
Twitter, Discord, and Microsoft have declined to comment on the matter.
Discord’s growth
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the soaring interest in e-sports from around the world has worked in favor of Discord.
In 2020, Discord had around 100 million active subscribers. Today, just over a quarter into 2021, the number of active subscribers has skyrocketed to 140 million.
Besides, Discord’s value has doubled in the last year, from $ 3.5 billion in 2020 to a whopping $ 7 billion in 2021.
Discord is one of the most popular voice chat applications that was primarily developed for the gaming community. In the current scenario, the application has multiple servers for individuals with a deep interest in comics, movies, anime, art, self-help, and more.
More about Discord
Discord was launched in 2015 and became an instant hit among the gaming community. Currently, there are 6.7 million active servers on the platform, out of which, thousands are not gaming-related.
Image Source: Discord
