Microsoft’s planned deal to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard has received unconditional approval from South Africa. The South African Competition Tribunal announced the decision on Monday and said it would publish its reasons in due course.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has now been approved by nearly 40 global regulators after the European Commission and Chinese competition regulators have also cleared the deal, which will give Microsoft the rights to well-known game franchises such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
However, the United Kingdom and the United States remain the biggest hurdles facing Microsoft. In April, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would block the $69 billion (about RMB 500.94 billion) deal due to concerns about its impact on the emerging cloud gaming market. Microsoft then appealed the CMA’s decision, calling it “unfavourable to the UK.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also sued Microsoft on antitrust grounds in an attempt to block the acquisition. Microsoft and the FTC faced off in court last week, with the FTC asking the court for a preliminary injunction that would prohibit Microsoft from completing the acquisition until another legal challenge by its internal administrative judge in August. Microsoft, meanwhile, wants to move forward with the deal before the current merger agreement expires on July 18, or Activision Blizzard could pull out and collect a $3 billion termination fee.
