Microsoft’s Tweaks to $69 Billion Activision Deal Avoid EU Probe
- EU doesn’t see concerns with changes aimed at winning UK nod
- UK merger regulator’s approval is expected in coming days
The company offered to allow Ubisoft Entertainment rights to distribute Activision games in the cloud gaming market.
Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty ImagesMicrosoft Corp.’s rehashed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. is set to avoid another European Union probe, paving the way for closing of the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal as soon as Britain’s antitrust regulator gives its expected approval in the coming days.
The European Commission has concluded that changes aimed at winning over the UK Competition and Markets Authority don’t need to go through yet another approvals process in Brussels, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Such a step would have added even more delays to an on-off acquisition that once looked doomed to fail amid opposition from UK and US watchdogs.