UK blocks Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, regulators fear monopoly in cloud gaming
UK blocks Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, regulators fear monopoly in cloud gaming
Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the producer of popular video games such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft, has been denied by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The judgement is a severe setback for Microsoft’s gaming aspirations, and it is the largest gaming deal ever banned by the CMA. The regulator is concerned that the purchase could stifle competition in the cloud gaming business, which is expected to be worth $13.7 billion globally by 2026.
The CMA’s decision comes after it dropped its worries about the deal’s impact on the console industry, which is driven by Sony’s market-leading PlayStation, last month, leaving cloud streaming services as the last remaining hurdle.
Microsoft had moved into licencing deals with the owners of streaming services like as Valve, Nvidia, and Boosteroid to address the difficulty. It also gave Sony a 10-year Call of Duty licence in exchange for bringing the brand to Nintendo’s Switch.
The CMA, on the other hand, found that Microsoft’s pledge to provide access to Activision’s Call of Duty property to top cloud gaming platforms would not adequately address its concerns.
According to the regulator, cloud gaming is rapidly expanding, liberating players from the need to rely on pricey consoles and gaming PCs and providing them more control over how and where they play games. As a result, protecting competition in this burgeoning and dynamic sector is critical.
Activision stated it would “work aggressively” with Microsoft to change the ruling, while Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, said the business remained completely committed to the purchase and will fight the decision.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick reminded the company’s workforce that while the news was disappointing, he thought it was not the final decision on the transaction.
The unanticipated setback to the transaction has had a considerable influence on the company’s stock price. Activision’s stock dropped over 12% to $76.65, moving further away from Microsoft’s offer price of $95 per share, wiping off roughly $8 billion in market value.
Also read: Microsoft-Activision deal in jeopardy as Microsoft faces EU antitrust warning
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s stock climbed to its highest level in almost a year, a day after the company topped Wall Street projections for quarterly revenue and earnings. The European Union will make a decision on the Activision acquisition by May 22, while the US Federal Trade Commission is also attempting to ban it.
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