MSFT - Did the U.K. Just Kill the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Deal?
2023-04-28 10:48:00 ET
Shocking news dropped this week in the gaming world when the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority said it is blocking Microsoft 's (NASDAQ: MSFT) proposed $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) . Wall Street was blindsided by the news, and investors sent shares of Activision down over 10% on the day of the announcement.
Even though Microsoft and Activision leaders are saying they will fight to get the deal approved, it is now likely that this deal will never reach the finish line and Activision Blizzard will remain an independent publicly traded company.
This decision from the U.K. regulator was shocking for investors, as it was just a month ago that the agency said it had found no problems with the deal in regard to the console gaming market. After Microsoft signed multiple deals to keep Activision's popular Call of Duty franchise available on all platforms for at least 10 years, there was no reason to think Microsoft's Xbox console platform would have any anticompetitive advantages over other industry participants.
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Did the U.K. Just Kill the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Deal?