The EU will reportedly approve Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

The competition and market regulators are still evaluating Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While it seemed like things were trending towards the acquisition being blocked, sources this week have claimed that the EU is actually now planning to approve the deal. 

According to three sources familiar with the matter speaking with Reuters, the European Commission is planning to approve Microsoft's deal. The company's recent legal agreements with Nintendo and Nvidia to put first-party games on Nintendo consoles and Nvidia's rival cloud gaming service are seen as ‘pro competitive' moves and due to this, the EU will reportedly not force Microsoft to divest in any part of the Activision Blizzard business.

With all of that said, it is also worth noting that the EU just extended its deadline for making a decision on the deal, pushing its final ruling to the 25th of April.

The European Commission is just one of several major market regulators that need to approve the deal. The FTC in the US is suing to block the deal and Microsoft is currently preparing for trial to fight for the acquisition. The CMA in the UK is also a hurdle and has previously suggested that Microsoft should divest in Activision, or spin off Call of Duty somehow.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: These talks tend to take place in closed rooms with very few people knowing the full story. With that in mind, I'm not sure how much trust to place in the anonymous sources cited. Still, the timing is interesting following on from Microsoft's Nintendo and Nvidia deals a few weeks ago. 

Become a Patron!