Activision Blizzard has come under mass fire lately for their alleged office culture of sexual harassment and abuse. This controversy is exactly what tech giant Microsoft needed to slip in between the company and begin talks of a proposed takeover.
However, the takeover deal could be worth over $70 billion.
A deal of this magnitude has caused intensive scrutiny to befall the two companies however, most notably from the US Federal Trade Commission. Now however, another set of eyes has begun looking into the deal much more closely.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced today that they would begin their investigation into the deal, which could be the industry’s largest one ever.
Activision, which has seen a wave of scrutiny and controversy lately, is the studio behind some of the biggest games across the globe. Games like the Call of Duty franchise, Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, and even Candy Crush are all Activision Blizzard games.
The studio is currently facing a group of lawsuits over the harassment allegations however, which might get in the way of the deal. If it doesn’t however, the position of company CEO and subsequently the rest of the company’s management is uncertain.
Company CEO Bobby Kotick
The UK CMA’s announcement today stated that the department is “considering whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”
A consultation period will swiftly follow the announcement, and will go on for two weeks where outside parties affected by the transaction can voice their concerns. Following the consultation, a ‘Phase One’ decision will be made by September first of this year.
Most analysts however believe that the deal will go through either way, without any issues.
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