EU antitrust regulators unlikely to demand Microsoft asset sales for Activision Blizzard takeover - Reuters

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) agreeing on licensing deals with rivals will likely address concerns by the EU about the company's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) without the need for asset sales, Reuters claimed on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter.

According to Reuters sources, EU antitrust regulators are not expected to demand Microsoft sell assets for approval.

Last month, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the tech giant would offer licensing deals to rivals to address antitrust concerns but stated it wouldn't sell Activision's "Call of Duty" franchise.

In February, it was announced that Microsoft and Nvidia agreed on a ten-year partnership to enable gamers to stream Xbox PC titles from GeForce NOW to PCs, macOS, Chromebooks, smartphones, and other devices. The deal also includes Activision PC titles, such as Call of Duty, once Microsoft completes its acquisition of the company.

In addition, Microsoft also announced it had finalized a 10-year agreement to bring the latest version of Call of Duty to the Nintendo platform following the Activision takeover — another move to ease concerns about the acquisition.

The European Commission did not provide comment to Reuters regarding its report on Thursday. Still, a Microsoft spokesperson reportedly said it is its "commitment to grant long-term 100% equal access to Call of Duty to Sony, Steam, NVIDIA, and others preserves the deal's benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market."

By Sam Boughedda

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