MSFT

By Will Feuer

Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. rose in early trading after U.K. antitrust regulators softened their stance on Microsoft Corp.'s proposed $75 billion deal to buy the gaming company.

Activision stock climbed 6%, to $84.45 a share, in the premarket session. Microsoft last year agreed to buy the company for $95 a share, but shares of Activision have trailed below that amid regulatory scrutiny of the merger.

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that new evidence has alleviated some of the regulator's concerns over how the deal would affect competition in the console-based gaming market.

The regulator said the deal "will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK." The CMA said Microsoft has a financial incentive to keep popular Activision games, like "Call of Duty," available on rival consoles, according to new evidence.

However, the CMA said its provisional concerns over how the deal would affect competition in the cloud-based gaming space remain. The CMA said it is on track to finish its investigation into the deal by the end of next month.

Representatives for Microsoft and Activision didn't immediately return requests for comment.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2023 08:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

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