New Zealand approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the final obstacle is CMA of the UK.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizens Nintendo for the clue that there are no tears! CTOnews.com, August 8 (Xinhua)-- Microsoft's planned acquisition of game giant Activision Blizzard has been approved by the New Zealand Business Council. The New Zealand Business Council said in a statement on its website that "the committee has agreed to Microsoft's acquisition of 100% of Activision Blizzard's common shares."

Activision Blizzard is one of the largest game development and distribution companies in the world, with well-known game brands such as call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Legend. Microsoft is one of the largest software companies in the world and the maker of Xbox, a game console. Microsoft announced in January last year that it would buy Activision Blizzard for $69 billion (CTOnews.com Note: about 496.11 billion yuan), the largest merger in the gaming industry's history.

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved in a number of countries, including Turkey, South Africa, South Korea, China, the European Union, Ukraine, Japan, Chile, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Serbia. Microsoft also won a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which FTC tried to block.

At present, the only obstacle to the completion of the deal is the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has extended the deadline for its final ruling from July 18 to August 29. According to reports in July, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are considering giving up control of some cloud games in the UK to appease CMA. There are reports that Microsoft may be willing to sell its cloud gaming rights in the UK to a telecoms, gaming or Internet computing company.

Microsoft submitted its changes to British regulators last month, asking CMA to reverse its decision to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and finally approve the deal. Microsoft believes that CMA should consider its new agreement with Sony to ensure that the call of Duty series is still released on PlayStation consoles, as well as its other agreements in cloud games and EU oversight of Microsoft's implementation. Microsoft also presented the latest evidence from the FTC case, "which undermines the conclusion of the FR [final report]."