Although the UK does not approve of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzad, other countries continue to give the green light one by one.
After the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, things got very confused with Sony’s opposition. Lawsuits and the decisions of competition institutions were among the subjects we discussed the most. After the rejection decision of the CMA, the European Commission approved the purchase and showed its opposition. Finally, an approval for this purchase came from China.
Approval for Activision-Blizzard acquisition from China
Seeking AlphaAccording to , Microsoft has received approval from Chinese regulators to acquire Activision-Blizzard. The $69 Billion purchase was approved by China’s State Market Regulatory Authority days after the deal was ratified in the EU. This approval is an important step for Microsoft, which needs approval in almost all the markets in which it operates for the deal to be concluded.
China is currently the world’s largest gaming market, with 770 million players, both in terms of revenue and users. With this decision, weeks after the UK Consumer Markets Authority blocked the purchase, China became the 38th country to approve the purchase.
As it is known, the agreement was also approved by the EU commission and CMA criticized them for this decision. In addition, in England, it is seen that some members of the parliament also made statements in order to put pressure on the CMA.
After this decision of China, Microsoft needs to get approval from the FTC in the USA and some small markets in order to put the agreement into effect. However, the decisions of the EU and China will have an impact in favor of Microsoft in other markets.