New Zealand's Trade Commission Approves Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision

Microsoft illustration (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - In the midst of its final submission to the UK Consumer Market Authority (CMA), the New Zealand Trade Commission has now granted Microsoft permission to acquire 100 percent of Activision Blizzard's public shares.

In the announcement of approval shared through its official website, New Zealand regulators underlined the importance of Activision games for gamers in their country.

With today’s approval from New Zealand, we’re cleared to move forward with our acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 41 countries. We will continue to work to resolve outstanding concerns and bring this deal to a close. https://t.co/PwoJj490Ah

— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) August 8, 2023

With today’s approval from New Zealand, we’re cleared to move forward with our acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 41 countries. We will continue to work to resolve outstanding concerns and bring this deal to a close. https://t.co/PwoJj490Ah

"In achieving its decision, the Commission focuses on the importance of Activision's game (such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft) to New Zealand gamers," the regulator wrote.

They are also considering whether Microsoft's future acquisition will stop competition with Sony and NVIDIA from offering the game on consoles and cloud platforms.

Based on these considerations, the chairman of the New Zealand Trade Commission, Dr John Small believes that this acquisition is unlikely to reduce business competition substantially in his country.

This approval from the New Zealand Trade Commission is Microsoft's 41st approval of this acquisition of IDR 986 trillion.

"With today's approval from New Zealand, we are allowed to continue the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 41 countries. We will continue to work to resolve unresolved issues and resolve this deal," said Brad Smith, Microsoft president at X.