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It’s not “game over” yet for Microsoft’s quest to buy the video game maker Activision Blizzard, but the software giant is starting to run out of clear pathways to complete its $69 billion takeover.
A major setback came Wednesday when British antitrust regulators said they would block the acquisition. Microsoft and Activision have vowed to appeal, but the deal also faces legal challenges in other parts of the world.
It’s been more than 15 months since Microsoft, owner of the Xbox gaming system, first revealed its plans to buy the publisher of popular game franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush. But there’s no end in sight.
HOW MANY LIVES LEFT?
The deal awaits an important May decision from antitrust regulators representing the 27-nation European Union. It must also undergo an August trial in the U.S. before a administrative judge at the Federal Trade Commission. But a former FTC official says the U.K. decision could be a deal-breaker, especially if the appeals tribunal follows its “very deferential” approach to the regulator.
“If this were a smaller jurisdiction with a tiny population, the companies could shrug and say, ‘We just won’t do business there,’” said former FTC Chair William Kovacic.
