The Deal is Seeing Progress
In an interview with L’Echo, a Belgian business publication, Microsoft claims the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is moving fast and is at ‘the end of its beginning’.
Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft, updates the public regarding the current state of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. According to him, the deal is moving fast considering the size of the deal, and Microsoft is currently receiving requests for information regarding the deal from competition regulators in Brussels, London, and Washington.
“It’s moving fast, at least fast enough for an acquisition of this size,” said Smith. “We have received requests for information on this subject here in Brussels, but also in London and Washington. We answer questions, we give briefings and we provide the information requested.”
Brad Smith also added that the process is a long one and while he respects the process of answering regulators’ and government questions, he also feels that the sooner the acquisition is done, the better.
“One of our attorneys summed it up nicely by saying, ‘We’re coming to the end of the beginning and now we’re entering the beginning of the middle,’ said Smith adding “It’s a long process and we’re still at the stage where we’re answering questions. For us, of course, the sooner it is done the better, but we will respect the process.”
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion is currently regarded as the biggest acquisition in the history of the gaming industry and is currently in review by the US Federal Trade Commission.
The deal is currently estimated to close in the first half of 2023, and when that happens it will give Xbox ownership of several big gaming IPs including Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Crash Bandicoot, and many more. Ultimately, Xbox Game Pass subscribers should expect those games to also gradually make their way into the subscription service once the deal is closed.