UK regulator has finally approved Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition

​Microsoft has received approval from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to acquire Activision Blizzard. This finally clears the way for the tech giant to complete its $68.7 billion acquisition of the video game publisher.

The CMA initially would not approve of Microsoft's plans to repurchase the publisher in April. However, the antitrust authority's green light comes after Microsoft agreed to restructure the deal in July to address competitive concerns raised by the regulator. It believes this "gamechanger" concession will promote more competition in the booming cloud gaming market.

As part of the restructuring, Microsoft agreed to sell off Activision Blizzard's cloud gaming rights outside of Europe to Ubisoft for 15 years. This ensures Microsoft cannot gain monopoly control over cloud gaming and allows Ubisoft to license Activision's titles for its own streaming services.

With the final regulatory approval, Microsoft is expected to close the Activision Blizzard acquisition today. The deal will bring popular franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Candy Crush under Microsoft's umbrella. It represents Microsoft's largest acquisition ever and will make it the third-largest gaming company by revenue.

Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard welcomed the CMA's decision. Microsoft vice president Brad Smith said the company looks forward to benefiting players and the industry worldwide through the acquisition.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also expressed excitement to "bring joy and connection to even more players worldwide" working together with Microsoft.

We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world.

On the other hand, the European Commission approved Microsoft's plan to buy Activision Blizzard back in May. So, this closure draws to an end a lengthy 20-month approval process where the deal faced scrutiny from regulators around monopolistic concerns.