Purchase ActivisionBlizzard on microsoft is awaiting regulatory approval in key markets such as the US, UK and European Union. Those from Redmond know that a mistake in one of these territories can thwart their pursuit of Call of Duty and other franchises of the famous studio. And while the company hopes to profitably close the deal in fiscal 2023, it already knows when it will have to pass one of the litmus tests.
that the European Commission set a deadline advise whether to approve the acquisition for $68,700 million. will be Tuesday 8 NovemberThis is stated in the document posted on his website.
The information available is not very extensive, but the date in question can yield two results. First, the purchase of Activision Blizzard must be given the go-ahead; secondly, that the authorities decided to launch a second phase of the investigation, much deeper than the one already under way. If the latter happens, it is likely that the definition of European regulators will not be known until next year.
In any case, it shouldn’t surprise anyone too much if the European Commission decides on November 8 to continue its analysis of the purchase of Activision Blizzard. In recent weeks, a report from Financial Times indicated that both the EU regulator and the UK Competition and Markets Authority intend to further investigate the agreement between the parties.
The main concern is related to potential anti-competitive effects which could entail an acquisition orchestrated by Microsoft. Especially how it can affect the access of competing platforms to your intellectual property. What was mainly represented by discussions about the possible future Call of Duty.
Microsoft is confident in the approval of the purchase of Activision Blizzard
While waiting for a ruling from regulators in key markets, Microsoft was confident it would get a positive ruling. A few days ago, Satya Nadella, CEO of the Redmond-based firm, said he was “very, very confident” that the Activision Blizzard purchase would go ahead.
The CEO insisted that his company would still be far from the highest-grossing company in the video game industry. Same way, argued that the fragmentation of the market is too great to talk about competition problems. “If it’s for competition, let’s compete,” he said.
Regardless of what happens in Europe, both in the EU and the UK, Microsoft will face tight scrutiny from local regulators. The agreement is under review by the FTC, whose president, Lina Khan, known for his strong stance against large corporations. Something that earned him the enmity of companies like Amazon, Meta, and NVIDIA.
In addition, several senators have called for a blocking of the purchase to prevent Bobby Kotick, the current CEO of Activision Blizzard, from leaving the company without being held accountable for multiple allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic work culture involving him.
Source: Hiper Textual
