Nearly two years ago, Microsoft decided to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard, but it never dreamed of the obstacles it would face. But after several advances and setbacks, the United Kingdom finally tentatively approved the Redmond company’s purchase of the creator. Are we missing the end of this million dollar deal?
In early 2022, Microsoft's intention to buy Activision Blizzard for 60 billion euros quickly created many concerns from rival companies, especially Sony, due to fears that popular games such as Call of Duty would become Microsoft exclusive. PlayStation.
As a result of the growing clamor of these concerns, Game Creator's acquisition was the target of multiple investigations by regulatory authorities in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. Although the first two companies have already given the green light to the deal, it now appears that the British blockade is one step away from being resolved.
UK tentatively approves acquisition of Activision
Finally there are a few more good news For Microsoft, the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to provisionally approve Activision's acquisition of Blizzard last Friday (22).
Microsoft President Brad Smith excitedly announced the news on his X/Twitter social networking account:
An important door of hope has been opened that will lead to the resolution of all these obstacles and, therefore, effective buy-in of the game developer. However, for now, this is only a provisional approval, and the final decision should be announced by October 6, 2023.
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