CMA agrees to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard

The British Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, has approved the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. This means the companies are one step closer to finalizing the $69 billion deal.

In a statement, the British market authority wrote that it is satisfied with the adjusted conditions and that it definitively agrees to the takeover. The amended agreement states that the rights for cloud gaming will go to a third party, in this case Ubisoft.

“By selling Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we have prevented Microsoft from gaining a monopoly in this important and rapidly developing market. As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get better services and more choices,” says Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA.

Even though the market regulator is satisfied, he remains critical of Microsoft’s approach. “Microsoft’s tactics are no way to engage with the CMA. Microsoft had the opportunity to review the deal during our initial investigation, but instead continued to push for a package of measures that we believed would not work. Postponing procedures this way only costs time and money.” The authority says it has ‘limited remaining concerns about the new deal’, but Microsoft has agreed that the sale of the streaming rights to Ubisoft is enforceable by the CMA.

It was already expected that the CMA would give the green light to the takeover after the preliminary decision in September. The regulator had expressed its approval for the deal. Now that the final decision has been made, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard can work toward closing the acquisition on October 18.