The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The market watchdog has agreed, for now, to Microsoft’s revised terms.
On Friday, the CMA announced that the new proposal addresses a significant portion of the concerns it had.
“The CMA’s position has always been consistent. The merger can proceed only if competition, innovation, and choice in cloud gaming are preserved,” said Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA. “In response to our previous disapproval, Microsoft has now made significant changes to the deal and taken the necessary steps to address our initial objections.”
The market authority is referring, among other things, to the sale of streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft.
Microsoft is pleased with the provisional decision. “We continue to work to finalize our proposal by the October 18 deadline,” said Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith in a statement to Eurogamer. The final decision, expected next month, is unlikely to differ significantly from the provisional decision.
The CMA’s decision has come earlier than anticipated. According to The Verge, it was expected to be announced during the week of September 25. The CMA was the last major regulatory authority that had not granted approval for the acquisition deal, citing concerns about Microsoft’s dominance in the cloud gaming sector. Earlier this year, the FTC was unsuccessful in court, and it cannot currently prevent Microsoft and Activision Blizzard from proceeding with the deal.
