British competition regulators gave preliminary approval Friday to MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址渟ubstantially addresses previous concernsB次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址渙pens the door to the deal being cleared,B次元官网网址� the watchdog said, though there are lingering concerns. that the watchdog provisionally decided will resolve those issues, and regulators are now getting feedback from B次元官网网址渋nterested partiesB次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淭he CMAB次元官网网址檚 position has been consistent throughout B次元官网网址� this merger could only go ahead if competition, innovation and choice in cloud gaming was preserved,B次元官网网址� CEO Sarah Cardell said. B次元官网网址淚n response to our original prohibition, Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal, taking the necessary steps to address our original concerns.B次元官网网址�
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 MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 purchase of Activision would harm competition and hurt gamers, especially for those using SonyB次元官网网址檚 PlayStation console instead of MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 Xbox.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opposed the transaction but , effectively clearing the path for it to proceed. The FTCB次元官网网址檚 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 regulatorB次元官网网址檚 objections. The CMA then put its original decision on hold and into the revamped proposal.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company is B次元官网网址渆ncouraged by this positive developmentB次元官网网址� in the .
B次元官网网址淲e presented solutions that we believe fully address the CMAB次元官网网址檚 remaining concerns related to cloud game streaming, and we will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18 deadline,B次元官网网址� he said.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a message to employees posted online that the preliminary approval was a B次元官网网址渁 significant milestone for the merger and a testament to our solutions-oriented work with regulators.B次元官网网址�
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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