Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved by Brazilian regulator

Microsoft's hopeful acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved by regulators in Brazil, making the $68.7B deal one step closer to becoming reality.

The approval: It found no significant issues with the prospective deal.

• The Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) announced on October 5 that it agreed to the acquisition with "unrestricted approval."
• The document explains the council's perspective on a number of matters regarding a potential argument of the prospective merger being anti-competitive, including excessive market share, game distribution via Game Pass, the potential for Call of Duty to be made an Xbox-exclusive title, and more.
• In particular, it states that "despite the fact that Activision Blizzard is the owner of some of the most popular game franchises today, there is no evidence in the file that the company has market power in the publishing segment of games, or that their titles can be considered indispensable for the commercial success of a given console or digital game distribution platform."

Elsewhere: The deal needs approval by relevant parties all around the world.

• Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Competition declared that it had no objection to the transaction in August. It's worth noting that Saudi's Public Investment Fund owns shares of Activision Blizzard.
• The acquisition is still being considered and investigated across Europe and North America. For example, the UK's competition regulator will make a final decision on the deal by March 2023 after further investigation and party hearings.
• In response to worries from the UK regulator voiced in September, Microsoft's CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer said that the company will continue to "enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices" and "engage with regulators with a spirit of transparency and openness as they review this acquisition."