The road seems clear for Microsoft to close its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by October 18th, though the company still requires approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It was provisionally approved by the authority following some alterations last month. While the jury is still out, people “familiar with the matter” say the changes won’t require another probe from the European Commission, says Bloomberg.
It approved the deal in May, citing Microsoft’s compliance to “fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming, as compared to the current situation.” One of the major changes since the Commission’s verdict is Microsoft granting cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard titles to Ubisoft to appease the CMA.
Per Bloomberg’s sources, this won’t create any new competition concerns, hence the lack of another round of approvals. A spokesperson for the CMA reiterated that it’s “closely following the developments in the UK and assessing their potential impact” regarding the EU. In the meantime, Microsoft still has to deal with the US Federal Trade Commission’s upcoming in-house trial. It’s confident it can close the acquisition by its original deadline of October 18th, so stay tuned for more details.
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