Microsoft’s revamped $69 billion deal for Activision gets closer to UK approval

By KELVIN CHAN
AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — British competition regulators has signaled that Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard is likely to receive antitrust approval. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that the revamped proposal “substantially addresses previous concerns” about stifling competition in the emerging cloud gaming market. The watchdog says the updated offer “opens the door to the deal being cleared,” though there are lingering concerns. Microsoft has offered remedies that the watchdog provisionally decided will resolve those issues, and regulators are now getting feedback on those fixes before making a final decision. Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company is “encouraged by this positive development.”