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China approves Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition as it still faces hurdles in the US and UK

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has cleared Microsoft's US$69-billion purchase of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard, although the deal still faces antitrust scrutiny in the US and UK.

The SAMR gave the green light to the takeover "unconditionally", according to a statement published to its official website on Tuesday. The approval was dated May 18.

The blockbuster deal has so far been approved by nearly 40 countries, including 27 in the European Union, along with Japan and Brazil. However, Microsoft still faces antitrust hurdles to completing the acquisition.

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In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal, alleging that it would allow the Xbox owner to "suppress competitors" in the nascent subscription and cloud gaming segments. Microsoft is defending the deal in court.

The software giant is also challenging the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which last month blocked the deal also over competition concerns. The merger agreement expires on July 18, but it could be extended.

Activision Blizzard, one of the largest game publishers in the world, is responsible for hit titles such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush. It also enjoyed huge popularity in China until it stopped offering many of its games in the market amid a dispute with local publishing partner NetEase.

Late last year, Blizzard ended that long-standing partnership, which started in 2008, resulting in a spat that spilled into public and culminated in a US$45 million lawsuit in April.

Even if the Microsoft acquisition goes through, it could be a while before suspended titles return to China, as they will require a local publisher and a license from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA).

The NPPA approved 86 game licences in May, covering titles from the country's biggest players, Tencent Holdings and NetEase, as the world's largest video gaming market tries to get back on track.

The market has been declining since an industry crackdown in 2021. Last year, domestic video game sales slumped by 10 per cent to 265.9 billion yuan (US$37 billion), the first decline in eight years, while the number of players edged down 0.3 per cent to 664 million, according to the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association.

Blizzard said last November that its licensing agreements in China contributed just 3 per cent of the company's consolidated net revenue in 2021.

Outside of gaming, the Chinese government has rejected takeovers with more political implications. It quashed Qualcomm's US$44 billion bid for Dutch chip maker NXP Semiconductors in 2018, and in 2009 it killed a US$2.4-billion deal between Coca-Cola and Chinese beverage maker Huiyuan Juice.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.