In a surprising tweet out of nowhere, the regulatory agency from Saudi Arabia approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King.
Saudi Arabia Approves Activision Acquisition
تعلن #الهيئة_العامة_للمنافسة عن عدم ممانعتها من إتمام عملية التركز الاقتصادي بين:
-مايكروسوفت كوربوريشن
-أكتيفيجن بليزارد إنك pic.twitter.com/lo5scC3F7k— الهيئة العامة للمنافسة (@SaudiGAC) August 21, 2022
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition (GAC), posted a tweet that approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision. The Arab Gulf state is one of many countries that has a say in the Activision acquisition. The GAC’s exact wording in the tweet says that “it has no objections” to the proposed acquisition.
FTC Lead the Way
Typically, international regulators will follow the lead of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when it comes to acquisitions. If the FTC does not raise any issues then it is highly likely that international regulators will not either. So it is a good sign that Saudi Arabia approves the Activision acquisition. In fact, some analysts believe that the deal could close before January 15, 2023.
Either way, it is looking good for the acquisition to go through. Although Sony recently communicated concerns about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the deal is probable to be approved. Thanks to regulators from Brazil, fans got behind-the-curtain insights into how corporate lawyers go at it tit for tat.
Sony is positioning itself to get more involved in live service games. It’s a new strategy it seeks to employ during this console generation. Its recent acquisition of Bungie is a tell that Sony is serious about games as a service.
Are you excited by the Activision acquisition? Do you think other international regulators will also approve of the deal? How do you think this will play out for the future of the Xbox platform? Let us know in the comment section below.
