The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has revised its view on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and paved the way for the takeover to proceed.
At the end of 2022, the tech giant announced its intentions to buy Activision Blizzard for $95 per share, valuing the deal at $68.7 billion.
The deal faced some obstacles related to the CMA’s concern about Microsoft monopolising the online gaming industry. That changed after Microsoft’s decision to sell Activision Blizzard´s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, which prevents the tech giant from having complete control over Activision’s cloud gaming content.
But, according to the Market Authority´s report, “The CMA considers that the restructured deal makes important changes that substantially address the concerns it set out in relation to the original transaction earlier this year”.
“In particular, the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft will prevent this important content—including games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft—from coming under the control of Microsoft in relation to cloud gaming.”
According to Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Microsoft’s decision to sell Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft “eradicates concerns that Microsoft would be able to gatekeep Activision’s content and withhold it from rivals. The loss of the cloud gaming rights is not an ideal concession for Microsoft to have to make, but it is necessary collateral if the deal is to be waved through. This looks to be the final bump in the road, and approval should be just around the corner in what is ultimately a win for Microsoft.”
The merger is still likely to pave the way for Microsoft to become a major stakeholder in esports and to consolidate its leading position within the cloud gaming industry.
The merger is still pending in the US but has already been approved in the EU, Japan, Brazil, Chile, China, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Serbia, South Korea, and New Zealand.