Microsoft eyes closing its giant Activision Blizzard deal next week

Microsoft is getting ready to close its Activision Blizzard deal, with a decision from a UK regulator expected imminently.

www.theverge.com

Sources tell The Verge that Microsoft is planning an announcement a week today (October 13) that the takeover is official. The last obstacle has been the UK's regulator, the CMA, but after Microsoft restructured the deal, the CMA has given it preliminary approval. That's expected to be made official very shortly, paving the ground for the deal to close and for Microsoft's victory announcement next Friday. That would wrap up what's been a 20-month process of regulatory battles across Europe and the USA to get the near-$70bn takeover approved.

Personally I think corporate consolidation has been a harmful trend in many sectors over the last decade or so, but I'm not opposed to this particular acquisition. Microsoft has been a positive force in gaming on the whole, especially in recent years, and I reckon Activision-Blizzard's IPs are in good hands with Phil and Satya.

What do we all think?