Sony is seeking a director to help it make acquisitions and investments in other companies in the games industry.
As spotted by business analyst Roberto Serrano, the Director of Corporate Development listing (based in Sony’s California office) says the successful applicant will be mainly involved in identifying potential future acquisition and investment targets.
“Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) seeks a highly qualified Director, Corporate Development. SIE’s Corporate Development Team works closely with SIE’s management team and is responsible for identifying inorganic growth opportunities through acquisitions, investments or joint ventures,” the ad reads.
“The team sources, evaluates and completes transactions that are aligned with SIE’s strategic priorities and drive significant long-term value for the company.
“The foundational work of the team involves developing market insights through strong internal and external relationships to identify attractive [mergers and acquisition] and investment opportunities.”
Among the various skills sought by Sony, the successful candidate will need to have a “proven track record of leading all parts of the end-to-end M&A process for both large and small transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures and investments”.
The role appears to be similar to an Xbox listing posted last week, which seeks a manager in the company’s Gaming Strategy & Development department.
“The Gaming Strategy & Development team serves as the corporate strategy function for Team Xbox,” that listing reads.
“We partner closely with the Gaming Leadership Team to identify and evaluate transformative growth opportunities.
“Our charter includes helping to answer Microsoft Gaming’s most challenging business questions, leading Gaming’s M&A program (e.g., Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, Double Fine, etc.), and identifying and understanding key industry dynamics.”
M&A activity in the games industry hit a record $85 billion in 2021 and has been forecast to reach $150 billion this year, with huge deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Take-Two’s buyout of Zynga having already been announced in 2022’s opening months.
Discussing industry consolidation earlier this month, influential figure Geoff Keighley suggested more major deals could be announced sooner rather than later.
The Game Awards creator tweeted: “Have heard from multiple people: As you might suspect, there are a few other big video game deals in final stages of negotiations. It’s going to be an interesting year!”
Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/now-playstation-is-also-hiring-for-an-acquisitions-manager/
