Slaughter and May advised Activision Blizzard on the UK competition aspects of its acquisition by Microsoft

Slaughter and May advised Activision Blizzard, Inc., a leading game developer and publisher, on the UK competition aspects of its USD68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft Corporation. Following an in-depth investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its original decision to block the transaction in April 2023. In August 2023, the parties re-notified a modified version of the deal to the CMA whereby Microsoft would acquire Activision, excluding cloud streaming rights for Activision games outside of the European Economic Area, which would be divested to Ubisoft. On 13 October 2023, the CMA announced its decision to clear the modified transaction with undertakings.