While Microsoft looks like it has a fight on its hands with the UK CMA — and potentially the US FTC — over its Activision Blizzard acquisition, in a new twist today - China has reportedly approved the deal.
According to the financial analysts over at SeekingAlpha (via Dealreporter), China's antitrust regulator has given the merger the go-ahead. According to the report, the Asian nation has "granted unconditional approval for the deal" during a 'Phase III' review.
We must admit that we didn't expect to see China approve this acquisition before the UK and the US, but here we are. For now this is just a report, and we'll be keeping our eye out for any sort of official confirmation from the country's regulator.
Meanwhile, the UK government appears to applying some pressure on the CMA to get the deal passed in the region, especially after the European Commission approved the deal earlier this month thanks to the cloud gaming remedies Microsoft put forward.