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The CMA has finally approved Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition
13.10.2023 - 22:37 / thesixthaxis.com / Brad Smith / Sarah Cardell
The UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has given the go-ahead for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, accepting the tech giant’s modified deal and how it addresses concerns over cloud gaming competition. Microsoft could complete the deal within the next few days.
The CMA had originally blocked the $68.7 billion takeover back in April, at a time when Microsoft was also building up to their first court battle with the FTC in the US, and the Xbox manufacturer planned to take the decision to appeals court. However, with Microsoft winning their first fight with the FTC, they decided to go back to the bargaining table with the CMA.
The key sticking point for the CMA had been Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform and the potential that Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty and Diablo could be an unassailable advantage in this arena. Microsoft countered that cloud gaming was still only being used by a fraction of a percentage of UK gamers, and that this would have no meaningful effect – something the EU agreed with.
In the end, the solution has been for Microsoft to sell the streaming rights to Ubisoft for the next 15 years, giving control to a third party to ensure a degree of fairness in how games are licensed between rival platforms.
While the deal now has the CMA’s approval, that doesn’t mean the CMA are happy about it. CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said, “Businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA.
“Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work. Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money.”
Microsoft president Brad Smith probably thought better of it when saying the company was “grateful for the CMA’s thorough review and decision”.
While the deal is likely to be completed in the next week, it’s not the end of Microsoft having to fight against regulators. The FTC lost their court case back in July, but has stated that they will continue to fight the acquisition – they just cannot block it from happening initially and any action will be applied to the combined company.
Source: BBC
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