New business Xbox: the takeover of Activision-Blizzard validated for the first time!
It has been many months since the announcement of the upcoming takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft was announced. A real earthquake in the industry, whether by the importance of the takeover or by its estimated price: 68.7 billion dollars.
A landmark buyout deal, and a long way to go
The takeover of Zenimax and Bethesda for 7.5 billion dollars by Microsoft had already caused a stir. The publisher / developer of Fallout 4 and Skyrim, which also owns Id Software or Arkane Studios, has therefore become an Xbox entity, providing exclusives and first-party games to Microsoft. So when Microsoft Xbox and Activision-Blizzard-King announce they’ve found an agreement for nearly 70 billion dollarsit is the face of the whole industry which is about to be redesigned.
If all the financial authorities validate the operation, the Xbox branch of Microsoft will own, in addition to all the buyouts carried out previously, Call of Duty, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Crash Bandicoot, Overwatch, Starcraft, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or even HearthStone and Candy. Crush. In Brazil, Sony has expressed concerns over the takeoverwhich could undermine the principle of competition, especially because of Call of Duty.
This question of competition, all the financial authorities of the world are asking. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) studying this takeover in the United Statesthe European Union is doing the same, the United Kingdom too, to give just a few examples. Must therefore succeed in convincing everyonebecause the slightest refusal on the part of a sovereign authority would impose the decision on the whole world and cause the operation to fail. The FTC, whose verdict is particularly awaited alongside that of the European Union, could deliver a first opinion by the end of the month and allow the operation to proceed to the next step.
The first green light has been given!
More a very first validation has just been givenand comes from a country that is being talked about more and more in the industry: Saudi Arabia. Endowed with a sovereign fund which bought SNK, the football club of Newscastle and 5% of the shares of Nintendo, the country, and more particularly its organization managing competition, has officially given the green light for redemption. Microsoft and Activision obviously hope that this approval is the first of a long list, and that the takeover can be definitively completed by June 2023.
The General Competition Authority declares that it does not oppose the completion of the economic concentration process between Microsoft Corporation and Activsion Blizzard, Inc.
But nothing is certain yet. In fact, it will take succeed in convincing the main markets that the operation does not upset the balance of power, and that Microsoft will not end up in a dominant position which could lead to abuse. If all goes well, Microsoft will have to integrate more than 9,000 employeesprojects, review the organization, and put all this under the authority of Phil Spencerpresident of Microsoft Gaming.
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