Microsoft – Activision Blizzard Acquisition Deal Gets Approved in South Africa

Microsoft is currently battling the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in court, in a bid to see their proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard go through. While the outcome remains uncertain, there is now one less country Microsoft has to worry about the deal going through. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa announced yesterday that they have approved the proposed acquisition “without conditions.”

Microsoft – Activision Blizzard Deal Approved in South Africa

The commission from South Africa has said that they will reveal their reasons for approving the acquisition “in due course.” The Competition Tribunal wrote in their announcement that they have “unconditionally approved the proposed merger, which is a global transaction”. Their approval means there are now 39 countries that have cleared the Microsoft – Activision Blizzard deal to go through. However, this could mean little in the grand scheme of things if the current FTC case does not go in favor of Xbox and Microsoft.

The ruling for this case will be given by Judge Corley who said, “I’m going to do my best. It’s hard.” She also added that the decision will not take as long as two-to-three months. However, an exact timeline was not announced. A lot has been deliberated upon during the hearing, including the value of Call of Duty. The judge even went on to add that the case has always been about Call of Duty.

“I’m trying to figure out why, why the emphasis just so much on Call of Duty? Isn’t there an argument that would force someone to come up with another good annual game or some other thing?”, said judge Corley during the final hearing.