Microsoft Looking for an Offbeat Solution to Gain Approval for Their $69 Billion Activision Blizzard Acquisition

Microsoft Xbox is looking to lead its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard to fruition as soon as possible. When the US court rules in Microsoft’s favor on FTC vs. Microsoft, they quickly shifted their attention to other gaming markets. While countries like Turkey have unconditionally accepted the deal, some countries like the UK are still skeptical.

United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns over this deal. However, now it looks like the officials at the CMA and Microsoft are in talks to settle it outside court. And the Xbox makers have proposed an offbeat solution to CMA’s problem.

Microsoft Xbox with an out-of-the-box solution to resolve CMA’s issues with Activision deal

According to sources from Bloomberg, Microsoft is looking to sell part of the UK’s cloud gaming rights in a bid. By doing so they will gain regulatory approval for their $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Furthermore, the company is looking at telecommunications, gaming, or internet-based computing company to take part in this bid. However, private equity firms will also be allowed at the bids.

In April 2023, UK’s CMA blocked the Microsoft-Activision deal after FTC raised its concerns about the deal in the US. The Xbox makers had to appear in UK’s court following their case with the FTC in the US. But the CMA has paused legal proceedings and both parties are looking to reach an agreement outside of court.

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And it will be in Microsoft’s favor to reach an agreement quickly. Microsoft will have to pay a $3 billion termination fee to Activision Blizzard after July 18 due to the current merger agreement’s expiry. However, altering the deal could also lead to possible new investigations by the CMA.

But for now, Microsoft is enjoying its victory over FTC in the US. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said, “We’re grateful to the court for swiftly deciding in our favor. The evidence showed the Activision Blizzard deal is good for the industry, and the FTC’s claims about console switching, multi-game subscription services, and cloud don’t reflect the realities of the gaming market.” 

Surely Microsoft will be looking to repeat the favorable course of the deal in the UK as it did for them in the US. What are your thoughts on Microsoft looking for an offbeat solution to satisfy CMA’s concerns? Let us know in the comments section below.

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