The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard after its review concluded that the deal was “unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition”, IGN reported.
The JFTC posted: “The JFTC Reviewed the Proposed Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. by Microsoft Corporation” From the post:
“Receiving notifications regarding the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc, (“Activision Blizzard” headquartered in the U.S.) by Microsoft Corporation (JCN8700159989374) (“Microsoft” headquartered in the U.S.; and Activision Blizzard and Microsoft are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Parties”), the Japan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “JFTC”) reviewed the transaction and reached the conclusion that the transaction is unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition in any particular fields of trade. Accordingly, the JTFC has notified the Parties that the JFTC will not issue a cease and desist order, resulting in the completion of its review.
I Overview of the Transaction
The Parties plan the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft through the acquisition of shares and the merger.
II Reviewing Process
Receipt of notifications regarding the acquisition of shares and the merger on March 10, 2023 (the start of the phase 1 review)
Clearance notification on March 28, 2023.
III Conclusion
The JFTC concluded that the transaction is unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition in any particular fields of trade.
IGN also reported that the JFTC’s decision not to challenge the merger will come as welcome news to Microsoft as it campaigns to convince regulators in holdout countries, including the United States Federal Trade Commission, that the deal will not harm competition, or increase costs for consumers.
GameSpot reported: The Japan Fair Trade Commission has reportedly closed its review of Microsoft’s attempted purchase of Activision Blizzard, stating the deal won’t suppress competition. In other words, another roadblock has been removed for Xbox to take the reins of Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft.
GameSpot also reported that this follows the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority determining that the deal won’t stifle competition in the console space last week. The CMA does have concerns about the area of cloud gaming with the acquisition.
According to GameSpot, The Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. is still scrutinizing Microsoft’s deal with Activision Blizzard, which is valued at almost $70 billion, GameSpot reported. The FTC wants more information on Xbox’s future Zenimax exclusivity, for instance, arguing that the company has gone back on its word to keep games multiplatform.
Reuters reported that the Japan watchdog informed Microsoft and Activision Blizzard it won’t call for a cease and desist of the merger.
Personally, I would like to see Microsoft acquire Activision Blizzard. It feels like this acquisition is taking way longer than it should. Sony is clearly against the acquisition, but it does not make sense to me why that is so – especially now that the JFTC has approved of the acquisition.