Videogame-focused chat startup Discord Inc. has ended talks with potential buyers, including Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.19%, and has instead resumed its interest in an eventual initial public offering, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, comes a month after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was in discussion to buy Discord in a deal valuing the startup at more than $10 billion. On Tuesday, the WSJ report said Discord had fielded interest from at least three companies about a buyout deal, but as Discord has been performing well it preferred to stay independent, at this time. Microsoft’s stock slipped 0.2% in afternoon trading, erasing an earlier intraday gain of as much as 0.6%. It has climbed 16.2% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.75% has gained 10.4%.