Timeline: Microsoft-Activision: Ubisoft in the mix as $69 billion deal restructured

Activision Blizzard

22/08/2023 09:20

(Updates with details on restructured deal)
       Aug 22 (Reuters) - 
    "Call of Duty" maker Activision  ATVI.O  will sell its non-European streaming rights to Ubisoft
Entertainment  UBIP.PA  to get the biggest deal yet in video-gaming past British regulators,
potential owner Microsoft  MSFT.O  said on Tuesday.
  
        Microsoft said on Tuesday it believed its new proposal was a "substantially different
transaction" and that it expected the CMA review process to be completed before Oct. 18.
  
    Here is a snapshot of key events in the Microsoft-Activision saga: 
    
 Date        Development
 Jan 18,     Microsoft says it is buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion
 2022        
 Feb 1,      Bloomberg News reports that FTC would handle the review of the deal
 2022        
 March 21,               FTC has 
 2022                    sought
                          additional data from Activision and Microsoft related to the antitrust
             review of their deal, the game developer says
             
 April 28,   Activision Blizzard shareholders approve Microsoft's proposal to buy the "Call of Duty"
 2022        maker
 July 6,     Britain's antitrust watchdog starts an investigation into the deal
 2022        
 Sept 1,     Britain's antitrust regulator says the deal could harm competition in gaming consoles,
 2022        subscription services and cloud gaming, and it needs to be investigated in depth 
 Sept 7,     Sony Group Corp  6758.T  says the offer by Microsoft to keep the "Call of Duty" series
 2022        on PlayStation for a limited time is "inadequate"
 Sept 15,    Britain's antitrust watchdog says it would launch an in-depth probe into the deal 
 2022        
 Sept 30,    EU antitrust regulators set Nov. 8 deadline to decide on the deal 
 2022        
 Oct 12,     Microsoft says Britain's competition regulator had relied on objections from Sony in
 2022        referring the deal to an in-depth inquiry
 Dec 8,      The Biden administration moves to block Microsoft-Activision deal
 2022        
 Dec 22,     Microsoft says the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies   
 2022        
 Feb 8,      Britain takes aim at the deal, saying it could harm gamers by weakening the rivalry
 2023        between Xbox and Sony's PlayStation   
 Feb 21,     Microsoft strikes 10-year deal to bring "Call of Duty" and other Activision games to
 2023        Nvidia Corp's  NVDA.O  gaming platform
 March 1,    EU regulators extend the deadline for the deal to April 25
 2023        
 March 8,    Microsoft tells UK it will license "Call of Duty" to Sony for 10 years
 2023        
 March 28,   Japan's antitrust watchdog says the deal will not harm competition
 2023        
 April 26,   UK blocks Microsoft-Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
 2023        
 May 15,     Microsoft wins EU antitrust approval for the deal 
 2023        
 May 24,     Microsoft appeals against UK block on the deal
 2023        
 June 12,    US FTC asks court to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision
 2023        
 June 13,    A U.S. judge grants FTC's request to temporarily block the acquisition and set a
 2023        hearing next week
 July 11,    A U.S. judge turns down FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop
 2023        the deal
 July 12,    Britain's antitrust regulator says a restructured deal could satisfy its concerns,
 2023        subject to a new investigation
 July 13,    U.S. FTC asks an appeals court to temporarily stop Microsoft from closing its purchase
 2023        of Activision Blizzard, hours after a federal judge rejected a similar request
 July 14,    Britain's antitrust regulator extends its final deadline to Aug. 29 after receiving a
 2023        "detailed and complex" new proposal from Microsoft that claimed material changes in
             circumstance
                         A U.S. appeals court 
  July 15,               rejects
 2023                     the FTC's request to pause Microsoft's purchase of Activision 
             
                         Microsoft 
  July 16,               signs
 2023                     agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation
             
                         Microsoft's appeal against Britain's block on its takeover of Activision
  July 17,   was formally 
 2023                    paused
             
                         Activision, Microsoft 
  July 19,               extend
 2023                     deal deadline by three months to Oct. 18 to secure UK approval
             
                         Microsoft, Activision 
  July 19,               urge
 2023                     U.S. to drop case against deal before internal FTC judge
             
                         U.S. FTC official 
  July 20,               withdraws
 2023                     case against Microsoft-Activision deal before internal agency judge
             
                         Microsoft-Activision deal 
  July 21,               back
 2023                     in hands of UK regulator after court pauses appeal
             
                         UK regulator 
  July 31,               seeks
 2023                     public input on Microsoft-Activision deal
             
                         Activision 
  Aug 22,                will sell
 2023                     its non-European streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment  UBIP.PA  to
             get Microsoft deal past British regulators
             
 

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 (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta, Jaspreet Singh and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva, Shinjini Ganguli and Varun H K)
 ((tiyashi.datta@thomsonreuters.com;))