Dear clients,
Microsoft Corp is expected to win EU antitrust approval for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by offering licensing deals to rivals, sources close to the matter said.
Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard last January, its biggest deal ever, to take on industry leaders Tencent and Sony for the booming video game market. Sony, in turn, voiced concerns about Microsoft’s expanding monopoly.
The main stumbling block has become the popular multi-platform Call of Duty series of games, which, once acquired by Microsoft, will cause an imbalance in the market, according to Sony.
The European Commission, which is due to decide on the deal by April 25, will not require Microsoft to sell assets to get approval, sources said.
Microsoft stated that it is „committed to offering effective and easily implemented solutions in order to remove the doubts of the European Commission.“ Last month, Microsoft announced it had signed 10-year licensing deals with Nintendo and Nvidia that would bring Call of Duty to their gaming platforms, subject to the agreement with Activision Blizzard being approved.
The deal is facing hurdles from regulators in Britain, where the UK competition agency has asked Microsoft to drop Call of Duty to alleviate the issue, while the US Federal Trade Commission has asked a judge to block the deal altogether.
