The UK Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it will be “investigating the anticipated acquisition by Microsoft Corporation of Activision Blizzard, Inc.”
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.
A deadline of September 1st has been set by which time the CMA will decide if a more in-depth investigation in to the acquisition is required.
It was in January this year when Microsoft has announced their intention to acquire Activision Blizzard King in a deal that values the monolithic publisher at $68.7 billion. This, Microsoft states, will help to ‘provide building blocks for the metaverse’, and is expected to be approved by regulators in FY23, which runs from July 2022 to end of June 2023 for Microsoft.
Activision Blizzard is the third largest video games company in how much revenue they draw in, behind only Sony and Tencent, thanks to their vastly popular and successful franchises like Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch. They also have a sizeable position in esports, thanks to owning Major League Gaming, which hosts popular Call of Duty and Overwatch competitions.
In February the US Federal Trade Commission stepped in to review the $68.7 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. Per Bloomberg’s sources, they will take over from the Justice Department, the agency with which is shares the responsibility of scrutinising mergers and any antitrust implications from them.
In April a whopping 98% of Activision Blizzard shares have approved the proposed $68.7 billion buyout by Microsoft.
Source: Gov.uk
