United Kingdom close to approving Microsoft offer for “Call of Duty” creator

The regulatory authority of United Kingdom He said this Friday that he is close to giving the green light to Microsoft’s offer to buy the video game producer for US$69 billion. Activision Blizzardcreator of “Call of Duty”.

This million-dollar operation is part of Microsoft’s strategy to strengthen its market share in the manufacture of games and make its console, the Xbox, more competitive against the PlayStation, from the Japanese Sony.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that the solutions proposed by Microsoft to the questions about this merger introduce “important changes” and this opens the way to “an authorization of the operation”according to a statement.

After a first rejection in April, the Xbox console manufacturer proposed to the regulator a modification of its purchase project of this video game producer that excludes the rights to games in the Activision Blizzard line, which will be sold to the French company Ubisoft.

The British regulator expressed fears that the initial operation would reduce competition too much in the online gaming market.

Microsoft Vice President Brad Smith stated that the company celebrates “this positive progress in the review process” of authority.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, whose company owns such well-known games as “Diablo” and “Candy Crush”stated that the British regulator’s announcement is “an important step for the merger.”

A “substantially different” plan

Microsoft launched this operation at the beginning of the year with the aim of positioning itself as the third company in the video game market worldwide, in terms of turnover, behind the Chinese company Tencent and the Japanese consortium Sony.

“This is a new plan that is substantially different”as it places the online offering of major games in the hands of an independent third party, which is a major player in the market, such as Ubisoft, explained Colin Raftery, executive director of the CMA’s mergers division.

The European Union (EU) gave its approval to the operation in May and in the United States a judge rejected the regulator’s attempts to block the operation in July.

Jonathan Compton, a competition lawyer at the firm DMH Stallard, highlighted that the CMA is the last of the big three regulators to approve this agreement.

“The green light from the EU in May and the blocking of the FTC opposition in the United States” They isolated the CMA in its fight with Microsoft, he added.

Microsoft adopted “the necessary measures to address our initial concerns”said the executive director of the British regulator, Sarah Cardell.

Regulators expressed concern that Microsoft would block other competitors from offering popular games by restricting them to its console.

Microsoft and Sony announced an agreement in July for “Call of Duty” remains available on the PlayStation, after the Japanese company tried to block the purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Source: AFP