Microsoft's long dispute with the UK Competition and Markets Authority over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finally over! The UK regulator officially approved the deal earlier today, paving the way for the takeover to go through.
The CMA confirmed this was on condition of Microsoft selling cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft as planned:
"The CMA has decided to give Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) consent to acquire Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision) (the Parties) excluding Activision’s cloud streaming rights outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) (the Merger) subject to the condition that the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights completes prior to completion of the Merger."
In a statement, Microsoft president Brad Smith confirmed this was the "final regulatory hurdle" to cross:
All we're waiting for now is for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to announce the deal has officially closed, almost two years since it was first announced. It's been a long journey to get here, but finally it's almost over!