Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is entering its final stages, with regulatory bodies worldwide currently investigating the deal. While the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has suggested structural remedies like selling off the Call of Duty business, EU regulators are reportedly likely to approve the deal without requiring Microsoft to sell any Activision Blizzard assets.
According to a recent report by Reuters, the EU regulator is scheduled to make a decision on the deal by April 25th, and last-minute licensing agreements with Nintendo and Nvidia may have helped win favor for Microsoft in Europe. The software giant recently struck deals with both companies to bring Call of Duty to their platforms for at least the next ten years with full content and features parity.
However, Microsoft still faces close regulatory scrutiny in the UK and US. The FTC sued to try and block the deal late last year, and the CMA’s provisional findings suggest that it favors structural remedies over behavioral ones like access remedies and licensing agreements.
It remains to be seen how Microsoft will address the concerns of these regulatory bodies. But if the EU regulator does indeed approve the deal without requiring any asset sales, it could be a significant win for Microsoft and a major step forward in the company’s plan to expand its gaming business.
