Microsoft Is Now Only One Step Away From Reshaping The Gaming Industry
On Friday, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) won against FTC that can no longer stop its acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATV) that is now approved by antitrust regulators across the globe. Only the FTC and CMA chose to stand in Microsoft’s way to dominate the gaming field but CMA got lost after the FTC’s legal challenges crumbled in during a judicial review. On Sunday, one of the biggest opponents of the opposition, Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) also gave in and gave Microsoft its blessing.
A Truce With Sony
On Sunday, Microsoft came another step closer to sealing its $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard when its gaming rival Sony signed a license for Activision’s most popular game, Call of Duty, upon the completion of the deal. The two gaming giants ended a bruising battle that lasted for a year and a half, with the Japanese company giving up its opposition of the acquisition. The pact that Microsoft and Sony made seems to have resolved the latter’s concern that Call of Duty will be held exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox game consoles.
A Victory For Microsoft, A Defeat For FTC, But What About CMA?
After Microsoft defeated the FTC, the CMA agreed to renegotiate its decision and later added that this will result in a lengthy investigation. But then it got sidetracked as the FTC appealed and filed a motion to block the acquisition that got rejected the following day. FTC failed twice and although the Ninth Circuit will still handle that appeal, Microsoft the has been given greenlight to close its deal on July 17th , after which either companies would be able to walk away from the deal with a $3 billion fee.
Microsoft has another regulatory battle for Teams and Office budling The EU watchdogs will be investigating over claims it is unfairly bundling its Teams videoconferencing app Teams with its Office software. Therefore, Microsoft’s still in the regulatory woods. On Monday, it was announced that the commission will be opening a formal probe next week as to investigate whether Microsoft has been abusing its market dominance in first investigation of such nature in more than a decade. The complaint by Slack who has been acquired by Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) was made three years ago, during which Teams gathered about 270 million users across the planet while Slack gained only about 20 million.
Regulators Opened The Door For Microsoft To Quickly Seal The Gaming Deal
After last week’s legal victory, the new timetable from Competition and Markets Authority implies that the $75 billion transaction could be closed quickly, as the companies scramble to restructure their agreement to satisfy competition concerns. In other words, the FTC’s legal attempt failed and there's nothing left to stop the Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush all come under the umbrella of Microsoft and gaming portfolio of the Xbox.
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