Microsoft and Activision: the big questions that will decide whether the US$68 billion deal goes ahead

By Joost Rietveld, Associate Professor in Strategic Management, UCL

Microsoft’s proposed US$68 billion (£52 billion) acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard should be allowed to go ahead, according to a US federal judge. After five days of gruelling testimony, Judge Jacqueline Corley ruled the merger is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition across the markets for video game consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud streaming.

The ruling paves the way for Microsoft to finally consummate the…

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