Bloomberg: EU does not have to re-approve Activision Blizzard takeover

The European Commission does not have to re-authorize the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft. This is reported by the Bloomberg news agency. Microsoft already received approval from the EU, but in the meantime adjusted the acquisition to gain approval in the UK.

The European Commission has concluded that the amended takeover plans do not need to go through a full assessment process again. That insiders tell Bloomberg. The EU previously said it would assess adjustments to the deal ‘carefully’, but the news agency said no further investigation is necessary. Such a follow-up investigation would probably have further delayed the takeover. Now that the EU is not conducting a follow-up investigation, according to Bloomberg, the takeover is one step closer to a conclusion.

Microsoft made adjustments to its acquisition plans because of the British market regulator CMA, which blocked the takeover in April. The regulator did this because of competition concerns regarding cloud gaming. Microsoft said in late August that it will sell the exclusive cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard games after the acquisition to an independent party: Ubisoft. In this way, Microsoft hopes that the CMA’s concerns will be addressed. However, the sale of those streaming rights would not apply in the European Economic Area. This way, Microsoft can still fulfill previously made cloud agreements with the EU.

The ongoing investigation by the British CMA is now the last major obstacle to the takeover. However, the CMA previously gave provisional approval for the amended deal. A final agreement is expected to follow this week. Sources from The Verge previously reported that Microsoft wants to complete the acquisition on Friday, October 13, more than a year and a half after the acquisition was announced. The US Federal Trade Commission still wants to stop the takeover, but the case before the FTC administrative law judge is not expected to be completed until after the takeover has been completed.