Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI)
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0952 GMT - The clearance of Microsoft's $75 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard by U.K. regulators is among the most mentioned topics across news items over the past four hours, according to Factiva data. The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, said Friday its concerns over the threat to competition posed by the deal were resolved by Microsoft's sale of cloud-streaming rights for Activision's videogames roster--including hit franchises "Call of Duty," "Candy Crush" and more--to rival company Ubisoft Entertainment. The CMA had provisionally cleared the deal last month. Microsoft said it was "grateful" for the CMA's decision, while Activision said the official approval was great news for its future with Microsoft. The U.S. tech giant first announced its plan to buy Activision in January 2022 and valued the deal at $69 billion after adjusting for the videogame publisher's net cash, and both companies had set an extended deadline of Oct. 18 for completing the merger. "If this genuinely protects consumers then the CMA deserves some credit for holding the line under considerable pressure from a multi-trillion-dollar business," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a market comment. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2023 06:07 ET (10:07 GMT)