The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially announced its approval of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, clearing the last major global regulatory hurdle for the deal. After the transaction is completed, Microsoft will become the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
This result stems from a concession made by Microsoft in August this year to complete the transaction: that is, Ubisoft replaced Microsoft in purchasing Activision's cloud streaming rights. Ubisoft will acquire cloud streaming rights to all PC and console games from Activision for the next 15 years, but this will only apply to markets outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Within the European Economic Area, Ubisoft will obtain a "non-exclusive license to sell, distribute and sublicense cloud streaming versions of Activision games." This means that Microsoft will also be able to obtain cloud streaming rights for Activision games in Europe.
The CMA has been the staunchest opponent of the takeover. The announcement stated that Microsoft's concession resolved the CMA's concerns about market monopoly, thereby agreeing to review the transaction and launching a new investigation in August. After the investigation was completed, the CMA announced it had approved the deal.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “By selling Activision Blizzard’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we are ensuring that Microsoft cannot monopolize this important and rapidly growing market. As cloud gaming develops, this intervention will ensure that people Get more competitive prices, better service and more choice. We are the only competitive agency in the world to achieve this result. ”
But on the other hand, Cardell also criticized Microsoft's strategy throughout the acquisition, which lasted about 20 months, saying, "Companies and their advisers should clearly understand that the strategy adopted by Microsoft is not the way to negotiate with the CMA." During our initial investigation, Microsoft had the opportunity to reorganize, but it continues to insist on advancing a package of measures that we have told them simply will not work. Prolonging the litigation in this manner will only waste time and money."
In response to this approval, Microsoft President Brad Smith also expressed his gratitude in a message , " We have now passed the final regulatory hurdles for this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry around the world. "
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