Why can t Microsoft buy Activision?

The European Commission has objected to Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard, setting another roadblock in the purchase. Following a lawsuit by gamers over monopolizing the gaming market, Microsoft has hit another roadblock in its attempt to buy Activision Blizzard (ABK) for nearly $70 billion.

Can Microsoft legally buy Activision?

Under the terms of the agreement, which would be expected to close by Spring 2023 pending regulatory and shareholder approval, Microsoft would own Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King under the Xbox Game Studios brand.

Is Microsoft blocked from buying Activision?

The planned Microsoft Activision acquisition has been provisionally blocked by the UK's antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) …

Why is the FTC blocking Microsoft from buying Activision?

With control over Activision's blockbuster franchises, Microsoft would have both the means and motive to harm competition by manipulating Activision's pricing, degrading Activision's game quality or player experience on rival consoles and gaming services, changing the terms and timing of access to Activision's content, ...

What would happen if Microsoft bought Activision?

Microsoft has a lot going on, including a cloud gaming service that allows games to be played on any computer or mobile device called Xbox Cloud Gaming. If Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, it will easily have the best library in cloud gaming on the market, with almost no competition.

Grand Theft Auto VI™ | PS5 Exclusive

Is the Microsoft Activision deal done?

Apr. 28, 2022: Shareholders at Call of Duty and Overwatch 2 publisher Activision Blizzard voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a $69 billion sale to tech giant Microsoft. The deal gives golden parachutes to top execs at Activision, including embattled CEO Bobby Kotick.

What happens if Xbox buys Activision?

Microsoft says it needs the deal to boost the Xbox

Microsoft says buying Activision would let it put more big titles on Game Pass - its Netflix-style subscription - and make more games for mobile phones, where there are big profits to be made.

What will happen to CoD with Microsoft?

Microsoft says it will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo for 10 years if Activision deal closes. Microsoft's head of gaming Phil Spencer said the company has “entered into a 10-year commitment” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the closure of the Activision Blizzard deal.

Will Activision deal close?

The deal has a deadline

At this time, the FTC is yet to officially file an injunction to prevent the $68.7 billion from happening. What's more, in November 2022, Activision Blizzard informed investors that it believes the Microsoft takeover will be finalised by June 2023.

Why did Microsoft overpay for Activision?

Most people think that Microsoft overpaid with the $70 billion price tag on Activision Blizzard. Not necessarily. People tend to look at this as a consolidation deal, where Microsoft buying a company at a decline, which is not. The important point of the deal was to facilitate Category Acceleration.

What does it mean now that Microsoft owns Activision?

The deal would grant Microsoft ownership over globally recognized franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, to name a few. It also creates a new division in the company, Microsoft Gaming, to be led by the company's head of its Xbox division, Phil Spencer.

How long will it take for Microsoft to own Activision?

Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is a leading developer and publisher of console, online, and mobile games is expected to be completed in June of 2023.

What happens to Activision stock after acquisition?

What happens to vested options: Activision Blizzard stock options that have vested prior to merger closing (other than underwater options) will be cancelled in exchange for a cash payment equal to the excess, if any, of the per share merger consideration of $95.00 over the exercise price, less any applicable tax ...

Does Microsoft own Bethesda now?

With the buyout, Microsoft now owns a number of additional studios, including Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

Who is against the Activision deal?

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it is opposed to Microsoft's planned purchase of games developer Activision Blizzard. The CMA said it had provisionally concluded it would result in higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation.

Will Activision be delisted?

However, as of now the deal is still going ahead and once complete ATVI will be delisted from the Nasdaq (US100). It means that those who have shares in Activision Blizzard will no longer own stock in the surviving business, as it will be owned by Microsoft.

Is Activision a buy sell or hold?

Is Activision Blizzard Stock a good buy in 2023, according to Wall Street analysts? The consensus among 13 Wall Street analysts covering (NASDAQ: ATVI) stock is to Strong Buy ATVI stock.

Are cod sales declining?

Monthly active users, which Activision and many others use as a success indicator while keeping hard-figure sales secret, dipped to their lowest total figure since the fall of 2019, when Call of Duty Mobile launched. They're 94 million this year, down 28% from the 127 million in June 2021.

Is Sony losing CoD?

Call Of Duty Will Remain On PlayStation For Three Years After Current Agreement, Jim Ryan Says.

Will Sony keep Call of Duty?

In September, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Microsoft had committed to making Call of Duty available on PlayStation for “several more years” after Sony's current deal with Activision expires, which will reportedly follow the release of a new game from Black Ops developer Treyarch in 2024.

Is PlayStation going to lose Call of Duty?

Despite ongoing concerns over Microsoft's pending buyout of Activision Blizzard, Xbox chief Phil Spencer says Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation.

Will Call of Duty be removed from Xbox?

As of February 7, Microsoft is purging a mass collection of games from the Xbox 360 stores, including DLCs. Among the list of games are Call of Duty: Ghosts and Advanced Warfare. After this, the games will only be able to be played by gamers who have the title installed already or who own the disks.

Does Xbox lose money?

Contrary to what a lot of gamers may believe, new game consoles are usually sold at a loss. The respective company then recuperates the money over time with other business transactions, such as software sales and subscription services.

Why did Buffett buy Activision?

Topline. Billionaire Warren Buffett disclosed Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway now owns about 9.5% of Activision Blizzard, with the Oracle of Omaha seeking to profit on the gap between the embattled video-game company's stock price and Microsoft's bid to acquire it.

Did the FTC approve Microsoft Activision deal?

The Federal Trade Commission authorized an administrative complaint against the proposed merger between Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc., a video game developer that creates and publishes games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.