 takeover of Activision Blizzard . The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said a new offer from Microsoft 'opens the door' for approval after the tech giant agreed to sell rights to stream Activision's video games to a rival. The UK regulator became an international outlier in April when it blocked Microsoft's takeover of the maker of Call of Duty, unlike in Europe and the US where it was cleared. Microsoft, which makes the Xbox games console, said the decision damaged Britain's hopes of attracting foreign investment. Rival Sony, which makes the Playstation, had warned Microsoft could use the deal to dominate the market. When ruling on the decision, the CMA said the takeover would hand Microsoft disproportionate power in the'cloud gaming' market – where video games are streamed over the internet to consoles or mobile phones. Activision is one of the world's largest video game producers, responsible for Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Following the CMA's rejection in April, Microsoft offered to restructure the deal . This includes plans to offload Activision's streaming rights to France's Ubisoft for a one-off fee. Ubisoft can then market those games directly to consumers or rival console companies. The regulator currently has until Oct 6 to consult on the proposal. It has been almost two years since the deal was first agreed in January 2022, although Sarah Cardell, CMA's chief executive, blamed Microsoft for the delays. She said: 'Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal, taking the necessary steps to address our original concerns. 'It would have been far better, though, if Microsoft had put forward this restructure during our original investigation. This case illustrates the costs, uncertainty and delay that parties can incur if a credible and effective remedy option exists but is not put on the table at the right time.' Bobby Kotick, Activision chief){kind=link}
New offer by US tech giant ‘opens the door’ for CMA approval
Britain’s competition watchdog has signalled it is prepared to clear Microsoft’s $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Activision Blizzard.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said a new offer from Microsoft “opens the door” for approval after the tech giant agreed to sell rights to stream Activision’s video games to a rival.
The UK regulator became an international outlier in April when it blocked Microsoft’s takeover of the maker of Call of Duty, unlike in Europe and the US where it was cleared.
Microsoft, which makes the Xbox games console, said the decision damaged Britain’s hopes of attracting foreign investment.