Activision Blizzard shareholders approved Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion buy of the game company in an all-cash transaction (see 2201180009), voting virtually in a special meeting Thursday, Activision said. More than 98% of the shares voted were in favor of the deal, it said. Microsoft’s proposed buy, the largest in its history, is expected to close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June 2023.

Aaron’s already has begun work on implementing an "in-house lease-to-own” program for BrandsMart customers for a Q2 launch, having completed its BrandsMart buy from the Perlman family for $230 million in cash April 1 (see 2204010026), said CEO Douglas Lindsay on a Q1 earnings call Tuesday. “We’re also preparing to add some of the BrandsMart product catalog” to the online Aaron’s store by the end of 2022, “and are beginning to assess procurement synergies between the two businesses,” he said. “We have begun assessing optimal locations for new BrandsMart stores, with the intent of opening 1-2 stores per year beginning in 2023.” Results for BrandsMart, which the Perlman family ran as a private company, will be reported with Aaron’s second-quarter financials, said Lindsay. BrandsMart draws half its revenue from sales of major appliances and 25% from consumer electronics, the rest from computers, furniture and other products, said Aaron's President Steve Olsen, to whom the BrandsMart team will report.

Twitter’s board members should preserve all records related to Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter (see 2204210038), House Judiciary Committee Republicans wrote the company Friday. This includes Twitter’s response to the offer and its evaluation of shareholder interests, the letter said. Online free speech is under attack from Big Tech, they wrote: Twitter’s decisions will be “consequential for public discourse” and “could give rise to renewed efforts to legislate in furtherance of preserving free expression online.” The company declined comment.

Elon Musk has secured $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter (see 2204150051), the Tesla CEO said Thursday in an SEC filing. Morgan Stanley committed $25.5 billion, and Musk will put up $21 billion, according to the filing.

Motorola Solutions acquired Calipsa, a U.K.-based cloud video analytics firm, it said Tuesday. Calipsa’s platform enables businesses to use AI-powered analytics to verify alarms, content-based searches, detect tampering and assess the health of cameras in real time, it said. Motorola believes AI is driving the future of video security, said Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Metaverse entertainment company Infinite Realty will buy esports platform ReKTGlobal in a $470 million all-stock deal, said the buyer Tuesday. The transaction awaits ReKTGlobal shareholder ratification, plus regulatory and other approvals, it said.

Nice/Nortek Control is consolidating speaker brands as part of the integration of the two companies after Nice’s purchase of Nortek in the fall (see 21100500666), Regional Sales Manager Peter Arnold told Consumer Electronics Daily at the Home Technology Specialists of America conference in Fort Lauderdale last week. Nortek’s five speaker brands -- Elan, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, Proficient and Niles -- created confusion for dealers, Arnold said, so the company took the brand count down to three. It rolled Sunfire technology into the Speakercraft line, renaming it Powered by Sunfire, and “retagged” Niles outdoor speakers as SpeakerCraft, he said. The Niles line is now “just bits and bolts,” Arnold said of the support role Niles volume controls and amplifiers play in multiroom audio systems. The move "was tough” for longtime Niles dealers loyal to the speaker brand, Arnold said: “We’re trying to come up with products within the SpeakerCraft brand that will make them happy." The company is also addressing redundancies in the Gefen and Xantech lines, “but we’re still figuring out how that’s going to go,” he said. Nice/Nortek plans to launch new products at CEDIA Expo in September, “but that hinges on the supply chain,” he said. Some new products are in development, but “we don’t know if we can get extra working models in that time frame." Arnold called 2022 a "transition year," combining a European company with an American company with associated “growing pains.” The first part of the transition is structural, getting the different divisions working together on the same platform, he said. Italy-based Nice has a shade business in Europe that’s “successful to a point,” said Arnold, saying he's looking forward to selling products designed for the European market in the U.S. “The potential is kind of limitless outside of COVID,” he said. The two markets are different because Europe has a lot of stone and brick buildings where installers can’t hide wires in walls. Since the electronics are visible in a European installation, “you have to have product that looks good,” he said: “It’s like comparing an F-150 to a Ferrari.”

AAMP Global bought AudioControl, said the buyer Monday. AudioControl CEO Alex Camara will join the AAMP leadership team, heading the company’s audio growth strategy for automotive and residential markets. AudioControl's current management team will benefit from access to AAMP's vehicle integration technology, it said. Under the new organization, AudioControl will be able to accelerate product development and expand operations to meet growing demand, said Camara. Terms weren’t disclosed.

AppLovin closed on its buy of streaming TV engine Wurl for $430 million in cash and stock, extending AppLovin’s software platform capabilities into the connected TV market, said AppLovin Monday. Combining with Wurl enables AppLovin “to scale our technology beyond mobile with the goal of bringing performance marketing to the CTV market,” said AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi. AppLovin estimates Wurl “enables content companies to distribute streaming video content to more than 300 million TVs and reach 30 million users globally each month,” it said.

Aaron’s completed its BrandsMart buy from the Perlman family for $230 million in cash, said the lease-to-own retailer Friday. The combined company is “well positioned” to offer consumers “easy access to high quality products on affordable lease and retail purchase options through a wider set of channels,” said Aaron’s CEO Douglas Lindsay. Aaron’s announced the transaction Feb. 23, with plans to explore “many markets” for BrandMart’s expansion beyond the 10 stores it currently runs in Florida and Georgia (see 2202240024).