Microsoft looking to close Activision deal next week
Microsoft is set to announce the completion of its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard next week, with the closing date pending on October 13th. The date will depend on the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which blocked Microsoft’s deal earlier this year. Microsoft recently restructured the deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft, and the CMA has a deadline to gather opinions on granting consent for the merger.
A final decision from the CMA is expected next week, and if Microsoft can close its deal, it will bring to a close a 20-month process of regulatory approvals and battles across Europe and the US earlier than expected. The CMA blocked the deal in the UK over cloud concerns earlier this year, just weeks before the EU approved the deal with important cloud concessions from Microsoft.
The FTC is still appealing the outcome of the hearing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a decision is due in early December. The FTC is also planning to resume its own administrative case against Microsoft’s proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition, which will commence 21 days after the Ninth Circuit rules on the FTC’s appeal. The FTC could attempt to undo Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal, assuming it closes on time, but it would face an unprecedented uphill battle.
Sources: The Verge (The information given is according to The Verge.)