Microsoft refiles its Activision Blizzard takeover proposal to British regulator after initial block
U.S. tech giant Microsoft has submitted a new bid for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is now offering some concessions after British regulators rejected its initial proposal.
Microsoft had proposed a $69 billion acquisition of Activision in January 2022, but was stalled by regulatory challenges in the U.S., Europe and U.K.
Upon the block of the original deal by U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft and Activision have agreed to a new, restructured agreement, which the CMA will now investigate with a decision deadline of Oct. 18.
Under the new deal, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years but these rights will be divested to French game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision.
