The EU Approves Microsoft’s Latest Acquisition of Activision
Following the United Kingdom’s block of Microsoft’s deal to acquire video game titan Activision, news has just been released that favors the acquisition on a mass scale. The European Union announced its vote to favor Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision, a large steppingstone to make up for the previous hurdles endured by the mega-cap company. The reason for the clearance came from a package of remedies that the European Commission found to dismiss any potential antitrust concerns. Originally, the U.K. explained its decision to block the deal revolved around obstructed competition within the growing cloud gaming space. However, some of these remedies the EU found to encourage competition were in the cloud streaming space, where Microsoft guarantees that any Activision game will not be exclusive to Microsoft’s own cloud streaming platform.
Activision, which recently merged with another video game company Blizzard, owns some of the world’s most popular gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and more. Several government institutions seem to fear that Microsoft’s large complimentary presence in video game consoles and streaming services would hinder numerous video game sectors; they would not only be able to compete but lose the opportunity to continue to innovate and grow at the exponential pace it currently has. However, Microsoft continues to ensure that its acquisition is structured to be inclusive, whereas several other companies will be able to utilize and promote Activision’s games to its advantage. Regardless, the second-largest market shareholder of the video game industry is the United States, and the takeover has had a number of issues domestically. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has an ongoing legal case against Microsoft, and several rivals such as Sony will continue the fight to block the landmark acquisition.
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I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.