M&A

Blow for Microsoft as biggest ever gaming deal vetoed

$69bn takeover of Activision Blizzard given the thumbs-down by regulators in UK

The proposed deal for the company behind Call of Duty is the biggest ever in the gaming sector

Microsofts $69 billion (€62.4 billion) takeover of Activision Blizzard suffered a hammer blow after Britain’s antitrust watchdog vetoed the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal, saying it would harm competition in cloud gaming.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its concerns couldn’t be solved by remedies such as the sale of blockbuster title Call of Duty or so-called behavioural remedies involving promises to permit rivals to offer the game on their platforms, according to a ...