Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) restructured acquisition plan of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:ATVI) for $69 billion is expected to receive a preliminary decision from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) next week, according to a report from The Verge on Wednesday, September 20 2023. The final decision due by the regulator is set for October 18.
The CMA had previously blocked another version of this deal in April, citing concerns that Microsoft could leverage Activision Blizzard’s games to bolster its cloud gaming efforts, potentially damaging competition in the Cloud Gaming market. In response, Microsoft submitted a revised acquisition plan in August. Under this revised plan, all current and future Activicon Blizzard games would be made accessible in the cloud by another game publisher, Ubisoft Entertainment (OTCPK:UBSFY (OTC:UBSFY)), for the next 15 years.
The regulator had cautioned against assuming approval for this new deal, stating that it would “carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments.”
Microsoft’s revised acquisition plan includes not acquiring the cloud streaming rights to all current and future Activision games released in the next 15 years. These rights will instead be divested to Ubisoft. This approach was noted as a remedy to the UK antitrust regulator’s initial concerns.
Microsoft has already received approval from nearly every other government regulator for this purchase. The US Federal Trade Commission had attempted to get a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction on Microsoft to block the deal, but both the judge and the appeals court ruled in Microsoft’s favor.
CNBC reported last month that if approved by the CMA, Microsoft might be able to complete its purchase of Activision, a videogame giant, in the first week of October or so. However, with the final decision from the UK regulator due by October 18, the completion date of the acquisition remains uncertain.
