South Africa is the latest country to approve Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal
Microsoft‘s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved by South Africa.
On Monday, the Competition Tribunal of South Africa said it has “unconditionally approved” the deal. The Tribunal’s reasons for its decision will be issued in due course, it said.
The proposed acquisition has now received approval from nearly 40 global regulators. In May, the European Commission and China’s competition regulator both cleared the deal, which would see Microsoft gain ownership of popular gaming franchises, including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
However, the UK and US continue to be sticking points for Microsoft. In April, the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said it was preventing the $69 billion deal due to concerns about its impact on the nascent cloud gaming market.
Microsoft officially lodged its appeal against the CMA’s decision, calling the decision “bad for Britain”.
The US Federal Trade Commission has also sued Microsoft in a bid to block the proposed acquisition over antitrust concerns.
Microsoft and the FTC faced off in court last week. The regulator is seeking a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft from completing the acquisition before its internal administrative law judge can review the deal in a separate legal challenge in August.
For its part, Microsoft wants to try and push the deal through before the current merger agreement expires on July 18, after which Activision Blizzard could walk away with a $3 billion termination fee.
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