Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal Being Probed by U.K. Competition Watchdog
Britain’s competition watchdog said on Wednesday that it was launching an investigation into Microsoft’s deal to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set a Sept. 1 deadline to make a so-called phase 1 decision on whether the planned venture would also result in lesser competition.
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The CMA said that it would probe whether the transaction “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”
It added, “To assist it with this assessment, the CMA invites comments on the transaction from any interested party” by July 20.
Earlier this year, technology giant Microsoft unveiled a $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, eight days after Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion deal to acquire Zynga.
The deal would bring together Microsoft, which owns the Xbox game platform and Xbox Game Studios (owner of Bethesda Softworks and 343 Industries, among other game publishers) and Activision, maker of the Call of Duty, Warcraft and Tony Hawk franchises, among others. Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, when the deal closes.
It is the largest in Microsoft’s history, with the companies targeting to close the transaction in 2023.
