Microsoft
United Kingdom gives preliminary approval to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
The CMA has welcomed the solutions offered by the Redmond-based company to address its concerns about cloud gaming, it said in a statement.
The battle between Microsoft and the CMA is coming to an end. The British regulator has negotiated with the Redmond giant and concluded that the solutions proposed by the company address its concerns. In a statement, the UK has announced preliminary approval of the deal, although the final decision will be made public after October 6.
“While the CMA has identified limited residual concerns with the new deal, Microsoft has put forward remedies which the CMA has provisionally concluded should address these issues,” the statement said. As they have specified, the concerns have to do with the sale of Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft, which signed a deal to be able to release the Call of Duty creator’s titles via streaming. The fear is that this contract could be terminated or not enforced.
“To address these concerns, Microsoft has offered remedies to ensure that the terms of the sale of Activision’s rights to Ubisoft are enforceable by the CMA. The CMA has provisionally concluded that this additional protection should resolve those residual concerns.”
Microsoft, encouraged by progress in the process
The regulatory body will deliberate until October 6, after which a final decision will be made, although the deal is expected to be definitively approved. Not surprisingly, Microsoft has received the news with optimism.
In the words of the company president Brad Smith:
“We are encouraged by this positive development in the CMA’s review process. We presented solutions that we believe fully address the CMA’s remaining concerns related to cloud game streaming, and we will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18 deadline.”
After the judicial defeat of the FTC in the United States, the last hurdle is the CMA. Once the agreement is approved, Microsoft will be able to close this important operation, which has been dragging on for a long time, but which will mean the annexation of the company that owns Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King. In recent hours, the Americans have accidentally leaked internal documents, although Xbox has recalled that these are old documents.