TECH - Microsoft's $69B Activision Blizzard Acquisition Gets Green Light From UK Antitrust Regulator | Benzinga
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in Britain has approved the proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). This approval comes after Microsoft made concessions to allay competition fears.
What Happened: Microsoft has secured the approval after agreeing to sell Activision’s game streaming rights, including the popular “Call of Duty”, to Ubisoft Entertainment (EPA: UBI).
Previously, the CMA had stalled the deal in April, fearing that it could give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the emerging cloud gaming industry.
With the CMA’s concerns now addressed, Microsoft is set to finalize the deal by Oct. 18. The CMA has hailed Microsoft’s streaming compromise as a “gamechanger”, noting that it is the only global competition agency ...