Deals
Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Gets Boost From UK
- CMA’s probe will now focus on cloud gaming and not consoles
- Regulator received a ‘significant amount’ of new evidence
Activision jumped about 6% as the market opened in New York on Friday.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Microsoft Corp.’s chances of winning antitrust approval for its $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc. got a boost after UK regulators narrowed the scope of their probe to focus solely on cloud gaming.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it changed its mind after weighing “a significant amount” of new evidence that Microsoft would be unlikely to profit from restricting access to blockbuster franchise Call of Duty on rival consoles such as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation.