China approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard
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Update: Microsoft has confirmed the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved in China.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "China's unconditional clearance of our acquisition of Activision Blizzard follows clearance decisions from jurisdictions such as the European Union and Japan, bringing the total to 37 countries representing more than two billion people.
"The acquisition combined with our recent commitments to the European Commission will empower consumers worldwide to play more games on more devices."
Original story: China's antitrust regulator has reportedly approved Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Seeking Alpha cites an item from capital market firm Dealreporter, which states that the State Administration for Market Regulation gave unconditional approval for the $68.7 billion deal after a Phase 3 investigation.
China's approval would follow that of Ukraine, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa and most notably the European Union, which announced its decision last week.
The EU is one of three major markets Microsoft needs to win over in order to get the deal through. However, regulators for the other two – the UK's Competition and Markets Authority and the US' Federal Trade Commission – have both made moves to block the acquisition.
Our extensive primer on the proposed acquisition breaks down the many regulatory hurdles Microsoft needs to overcome before it can take ownership of Activision Blizzard.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
