Microsoft is currently in discussions to potentially buy the chat platform Discord, according to a new report from Bloomberg News that cites unnamed sources. The sale, which is far from a done deal, could be worth over $10 billion but Discord is just as likely to go public if it doesn’t get an acceptable offer, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
Bloomberg notes that Discord has been talking to other prospective buyers “in the past,” including Amazon and Epic Games, though the timeline for those discussions wasn’t made clear. Both Microsoft and Discord did not immediately respond to emailed inquiries from Gizmodo late Monday.
Microsoft has been rumored to almost buy up a number of different tech properties in recent years, though some of the most high profile have not gone through. Last year, Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media, which owns Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion. Bethesda produces several high-profile video game franchises, including Doom and Fallout.
Microsoft was named as an interested party to buy TikTok back in 2020 when the Trump regime was trying to get the Chinese-based dance app to sell to an American company. The TikTok sale ultimately fizzled when the Biden administration took over the White House. Microsoft was also reportedly interested in buying Pinterest, though that deal also hasn’t happened. At least not yet.
Would Discord go public? That’s certainly another possibility, according to Bloomberg. And if that’s the endgame, it might make sense to leak a bunch of news about a potential $10 billion sales price. Discord was valued at roughly $7 billion as recently as November. But what’s a few billion here or there?