It’s been a busy week for Microsoft’s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with the FTC trial followed by the UK’s CMA extending the deadline for its final decision until 29 August.
Earlier this week, US district judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled in favour of Microsoft during the FTC trial, a significant win for the company. Yesterday the FTC filed an appeal hoping to block the deal before its July 18 deadline, but the same judge overturned the appeal.
From this point, things have started to, and need to, move quickly for the purchase to go through. Activision Blizzard was pulled from the NASDAQ-100 Index in anticipation of the deal’s completion, but if something should happen to stop it, Microsoft will need to pay Activision Blizzard $3 billion and return to negotiations.
Amidst all this, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has extended its deadline for a final decision. Back in April, the UK regulator blocked the deal because of concerns over how it could impact the Cloud streaming market.
However, this week after the FTC trial, there were reports that Microsoft and the CMA had “re-entered negotiations.”
In a statement, the regulator said, “The CMA considers that there is insufficient time remaining in the statutory period for full and proper consideration of Microsoft’s submission on the proposed Order.”
The CMA still presents a major hurdle for Microsoft, but according to a new report from Bloomberg, the company is weighing giving up control of some of its cloud-gaming services in order to see the deal pass. Because that was the primary concern raised by the CMA, giving up control of cloud-based market rights could push the watchdog to give the green light.
Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard will be the largest in the video game industry’s history if it goes through.
