Microsoft and Activision One Step Closer to Merger; Bobby Kotick Speaks of 'Important Milestone'
The British CMA has given preliminary approval to Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. This is an important step toward finalizing the acquisition, as Bobby Kotick stressed.
The biggest acquisition in the history of the gaming industry is getting closer to becoming a reality. The UK's Consumer Protection Authority (CMA) has given preliminary approval to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Until now, the UK has been the most important of the regulators opposing the merger, not counting the US Federal Trade Commission, which lost with Microsoft in a court battle. Among the CMA's objections was the possibility of using Activision Blizzard's popular games to advertise the Redmond giant's cloud services.
However, in August the decision was made to to sell cloud distribution rights to Call of Duty and other AB brands to Ubisoft. This compromise has supposedly convinced the British agency to change its decision. Apparently, it did, because in a new announcement the CMA appreciated Microsoft's efforts and acknowledged that the company's proposed "remedies temporarily resolve the issue."
The issue was also mentioned by Bobby Kotick. In an announcement to employees (made publicly available on the company's official website) Activision Blizzard's CEO called CMA's decision "an important milestone" on the way to finalizing Microsoft's acquisition of the company:
"This is a significant milestone for the merger and proves the validity of our solution-oriented work with regulators. I remain optimistic in our continued journey toward finalizing it [Activision Blizzard deal - editor's note], and I am very grateful to each of you for your dedication and focus during this process."
This is not to say that the CMA's positive consideration of the merger written in stone. The British will still consult with outside parties until October 6 before making a final decision.
The agency still has "limited reservations" about Microsoft's new offer, mainly over the possibility of "circumventing, disrupting or failing to enforce" commitments to sell Ubisoft the rights to distribute AB's cloud-based games. However, the Redmond giant has offered remedies, which the CMA deemed sufficient.
