BackUK set to clear $69 billion Microsoft-Activision deal after revamp
UK regulators give preliminary approval to Microsoft-Activision deal after addressing previous concerns.
PremiumBritish authorities might soon clear the world's biggest ever gaming deal following edits that “substantially address previous concerns". Competition regulators gave preliminary approval to the restructured Microsoft-Activision deal on Friday – nearly a year after it was blocked amid concerns about stifling competition. The Competition and Markets Authority is now getting feedback from “interested parties" before making a final decision.
The move represents a stunning turnaround from the vehement stance taken by antitrust regulators in April and came with a warning to other would-be acquirers not to delay offering concessions. The restructured offer will see Microsoft will sell off cloud streaming rights outside of the EU and three other European countries for all current and new Activision games released over the next 15 years to French game studio Ubisoft Entertainment.
“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," Bloomberg quoted Competition and Markets Authority official Colin Raftery as saying.
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The deal gained unexpected momentum earlier this year after Microsoft beat a court challenge from the Federal Trade Commission. The European Union cleared the deal with behavioral remedies in May, leaving the CMA as its only critic.
Ove the past year regulators have repeatedly voiced concern that the deal would harm competition and hurt gamers – especially for those using Sony's PlayStation console instead of Microsoft's Xbox.
(With inputs from agencies)
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