Microsoft’s Activision Buy Still Expected to Close by June: Kotick

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard buy (see 2201180009) is still “most likely” to close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending in June, though, “as we said from the outset, this is a long process,” said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in an open letter to employees Thursday. The deal got regulatory approvals in “a couple of countries,” and the process with all the regulators “is generally moving along as we expected,” he said. The transaction entered the second phase of its U.K. review, “and we will continue to fully cooperate with the regulators there, and everywhere approvals are required,” he said. “As our industry continues to see numerous companies investing aggressively in gaming, including many of the world’s largest technology and media companies, government regulators are taking appropriate and deliberate steps to better understand our industry and the growing competition from around the world.”