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Microsoft\u2019s\u00a0$68.7 billion deal\u00a0to acquire Activision Blizzard has been\u00a0approved by UK regulators. The UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that the deal can proceed after Microsoft recently restructured the deal\u00a0to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The decision clears the way for the deal to close now that the UK regulator has given the green light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe CMA has decided to give Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) consent to acquire Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision) (the Parties) excluding Activision\u2019s cloud streaming rights outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) (the Merger) subject to the condition that the sale of Activision\u2019s cloud streaming rights completes prior to completion of the Merger,\u201d reads a statement from the CMA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The CMA describes Microsoft\u2019s concession as a \u201cgamechanger that will promote competition\u201d in the growing cloud gaming market. \u201cWith the sale of Activision\u2019s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we\u2019ve made sure Microsoft can\u2019t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market,\u201d says Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA. \u201cAs cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice. We are the only competition agency globally to have delivered this outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith says the company welcomes the CMA\u2019s decision. \u201cWe have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide,\u201d says Smith in a message on X (formerly Twitter). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
We\u2019re now awaiting news from Microsoft about the finalization of the acquisition. The Verge<\/em> reported last week that Microsoft was getting ready to close its Activision Blizzard deal today, Friday October 13th. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick emailed all employees today announcing the news. \u201cWe now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world,\u201d said Kotick. \u201cWe\u2019re excited for our next chapter together with Microsoft and the endless possibilities it creates for you and for our players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The CMA\u2019s decision comes months after the regulator initially moved to block Microsoft\u2019s deal in April over cloud gaming concerns. Microsoft appealed that decision with the UK\u2019s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), but both parties put that process on hold in July to make way for Microsoft\u2019s restructured deal that was designed to address the concerns. After successful discussions with the CMA, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agreed to extend their merger agreement deadline to October 18th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Xbox maker originally announced the deal in January 2022, and has faced close scrutiny from regulators ever since \u2014 including an FTC v. Microsoft <\/em>case that revealed plenty of Xbox secrets. The Federal Trade Commission is still appealing its failure to secure a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft\u2019s deal, with a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals due in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As the FTC doesn\u2019t have a preliminary injunction in place, Microsoft is now clear to close its proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition ahead of the deal deadline. The closure will bring to an end a 20-month process of regulatory approvals and battles, and comes months after EU regulators approved the deal thanks to additional concessions from Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Microsoft\u2019s obligations to the European Commission will allow consumers in EU countries to stream via \u201cany cloud game streaming services of their choice\u201d all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a license for. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Microsoft has made\u00a0several cloud gaming deals to license Activision Blizzard content, and the company\u2019s restructured deal means it won\u2019t control the cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard outside of EU markets. Ubisoft will acquire these rights for a period of 15 years, allowing the publisher to license titles back to Microsoft to be included in Xbox Cloud Gaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [ad_1] Microsoft\u2019s\u00a0$68.7 billion deal\u00a0to acquire Activision Blizzard has been\u00a0approved by UK regulators. The UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that the deal can proceed after Microsoft recently restructured the deal\u00a0to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The decision clears the way for the deal to close …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8575"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}