Tech

Microsoft to avoid further EU probe in €64 billion Activision deal following tweaks

The deal has been hampered by regulators in Europe and the US

Microsoft was given a second chance to allay fears after the CMA blocked its deal earlier this year. Picture: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Image

Microsoft’s rehashed $69 billion (€64.87 billion) acquisition of Activision Blizzard is set to avoid another European Union probe, paving the way for closing of the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal as soon as Britain’s antitrust regulator gives its expected approval in the coming days.

The European Commission has concluded that changes aimed at winning over the UK Competition and Markets Authority don’t need to go through yet another approvals process in Brussels, according to people ...