Microsoft

Microsoft finalizes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

Microsoft now owns the company, Activision Blizzard, that is responsible for making ‘Call of Duty’ and other popular games. It has successfully bought the company for $69 Billion. Being a major acquisition, it has to go through a lengthy and intricate approval process but finally they made the purchase after getting clearance from the UK’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Here's a detailed recap of the key milestones of the processes that led to this deal:

The process started when Microsoft first announced their plan to purchase Activision Blizzard on 18th January, 2022. They planned to purchase it for an amount of $68.7 Billion. As soon as the announcement was made, the deal got the attention from industry experts, regulators etc.

In September, the competition regulator in the UK showed concern about the deal. According to them the deal may have a negative impact on competition within the gaming industry. To assess the consequences of the deal in the gaming market, they then started conducting thorough research.

The European Union set a deadline of November 8, 2022 to make their decision regarding the deal. Microsoft had to wait for the decision from the EU alongside other regulatory reviews.

In December 2022, the Biden administrator, which represents the US government stepped in. They were against the deal as according to them, the deal may violate antitrust law.

By February 2023, the UK raised additional concerns about how the deal might affect gamers' choices, particularly in the rivalry between Xbox and Sony's PlayStation.

Though the UK initially blocked the deal in April 2023 showing concerns related to cloud gaming, in May 2023, Microsoft finally cleared an obstacle as they received approval from the European Union for the deal.

In June 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also made an attempt to hinder the deal temporarily which was initially granted.

In July 2023, the UK regulator prompted Microsoft to make a new proposal suggesting that a restructured deal might address its concerns.

On October 13, 2023, the UK’s CMA eventually cleared the deal and allowed Microsoft to proceed with acquisition.