CMA provisionally approves Activision-Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft

The British Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The market watchdog has for the time being agreed to Microsoft’s amended conditions.

Friday reports the CMA that the new proposal addresses many of the concerns that the watchdog has. “The CMA’s position has always been consistent. The merger can only proceed if competitive opportunities, innovation and choice in cloud gaming are maintained,” said Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA. “In response to our previous disapproval, Microsoft has now significantly changed the deal and taken the necessary steps to address our original concerns.” The market authority refers, among other things, to the sale of the streaming rights of Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft.

Microsoft is happy with the preliminary decision. “We continue to work to complete our proposal before the October 18 deadline,” said Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith in a response to Eurogamer. The final decision, which will be taken next month, will probably not differ much from the provisional decision.

The CMA’s decision comes earlier than expected. According to The Verge, this would be announced the week of September 25. The CMA was the last major market authority not to approve the takeover deal, saying it was because of concerns about Microsoft’s dominant position in cloud gaming. The FTC was ruled against by a judge earlier this year and cannot prevent Microsoft and Activision Blizzard from continuing the deal for the time being.