British competition regulators gave preliminary approval Friday to Microsoft害羞草研究所檚 restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard, easing a final global hurdle that paves the way for one of the largest tech transactions in history to go through.
The Competition and Markets Authority said the revamped proposal 害羞草研究所渟ubstantially addresses previous concerns害羞草研究所� about in the fast-growing cloud gaming market, which frees players from buying expensive consoles and gaming computers by streaming to tablets, phones and other devices.
The updated offer 害羞草研究所渙pens the door to the deal being cleared,害羞草研究所� the watchdog said, though there are lingering concerns. that the watchdog provisionally decided will resolve those issues, and regulators are now getting feedback from 害羞草研究所渋nterested parties害羞草研究所� before making a final decision.
The announcement shows the U.K. watchdog is close to reversing its from taking over the maker of hit gaming franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
害羞草研究所淭he CMA害羞草研究所檚 position has been consistent throughout 害羞草研究所� this merger could only go ahead if competition, innovation and choice in cloud gaming was preserved,害羞草研究所� CEO Sarah Cardell said. 害羞草研究所淚n response to our original prohibition, Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal, taking the necessary steps to address our original concerns.害羞草研究所�
Since the deal was announced in January 2022, Microsoft has secured approvals from antitrust authorities covering more than 40 countries. Crucially, it got a after agreeing to allow users and cloud gaming platforms to stream its titles without paying royalties for 10 years.
But it hit roadblocks in the U.S. and Britain, where regulators feared Microsoft害羞草研究所檚 purchase of Activision would harm competition and hurt gamers, especially for those using Sony害羞草研究所檚 PlayStation console instead of Microsoft害羞草研究所檚 Xbox.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opposed the transaction but , effectively clearing the path for it to proceed. The FTC害羞草研究所檚 appeal of that decision is still in progress.
The companies agreed to for the deal to close to mid-October to try to overcome the British regulator害羞草研究所檚 objections. The CMA then put its original decision on hold and into the revamped proposal.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company is 害羞草研究所渆ncouraged by this positive development害羞草研究所� in the .
害羞草研究所淲e presented solutions that we believe fully address the CMA害羞草研究所檚 remaining concerns related to cloud game streaming, and we will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18 deadline,害羞草研究所� he said.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a message to employees posted online that the preliminary approval was a 害羞草研究所渁 significant milestone for the merger and a testament to our solutions-oriented work with regulators.害羞草研究所�
Under the restructured deal, 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.
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