UK regulator approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision
By ForGeeks The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has officially approved Microsoft’s proposed deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. The CMA initially blocked the deal in April over concerns about its impact on the nascent cloud gaming market.
The CMA has now officially approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
To allay those concerns, the Xbox maker agreed to sell cloud gaming rights outside the European Economic Area to Ubisoft for all Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years.
According to the CMA, the Xbox maker has agreed to sell cloud gaming rights outside the European Economic Area for all Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years.
The CMA announced last month that it had pre-authorized the deal, and today — after a period of consultation — it formally approved the acquisition. In a somewhat blunt statement, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell acknowledged that the deal could now go ahead, but also criticized Microsoft.
According to the CMA, the CMA’s chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said the deal was now a possibility.
Cardell said the CMA’s decision was not due to political influence, which may be a reference to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick’s statement that if the deal is blocked, the U.K. will turn into «Death Valley» rather than Silicon Valley.
