Microsoft’s bid to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $69bn is on the verge of approval, media outlets reported on Friday.
After facing objections from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to fears of dominating the emerging cloud gaming sector, Microsoft amended its proposal.
The revised deal involves selling Activision’s cloud gaming rights outside Europe to Ubisoft, a leading French gaming company.
The initial resistance to the deal marked a significant low point for Microsoft, with the tech giant labeling it their “darkest day” in their 40-year UK history.
However, recent statements from the CMA indicate that the proposed sale of gaming rights significantly alleviates prior apprehensions, paving the way for the potential green light of the acquisition.
Although the CMA highlighted a few remaining concerns about the permanence and enforcement of the cloud streaming rights sale, Microsoft reassured the regulator by granting them the authority to oversee the deal’s terms. The UK regulatory body believes that this intervention could satisfactorily address its last reservations.
“This is a new and substantially different deal, which keeps the cloud distribution of these important games in the hands of a strong independent supplier, Ubisoft, rather than under the control of Microsoft,” said Colin Raftery, the senior director of mergers at the CMA.
“With additional protections to make sure that the deal is properly implemented, this will maintain the structure of the market, enabling open competition to continue to shape the development of cloud gaming in the years to come.”
