South Korea approves Activision buyout; 39 countries already back Microsoft

The Asian country green-lighted the acquisition without any conditions

South Korea approves Activision buyout; 39 countries already back Microsoft

The Asian country green-lighted the acquisition without any conditions

The purchase of Activision Blizzard is progressing and everything has been favorable for Microsoft in recent weeks. The company has just received another piece of good news, as South Korea decided to approve the acquisition without any conditions.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) concluded that the purchase of Activision Blizzard will not impact competition or represent major changes in the country's industry. As a result, Microsoft already has the backing of 39 to complete the purchase.

South Korea is not concerned about the purchase of Activision Blizzard

Through a statement, the KFTC reported that it has no problems with the purchase of Activision Blizzard. After an investigation, it concluded that the company's games do not have a big impact in South Korea, so Microsoft can proceed with its purchase without additional concessions.

"The combined market share of games developed and distributed by Microsoft and Blizzard is small, the popularity of Blizzard’s major games in Korea is not as high as overseas" the agency said.

The KFTC explained that it was in contact with regulators in other regions and understands the different perspectives of each. This is because Activision Blizzard's games are very important in the West and because the operation of the video game market is different in each country.

"The different judgements on whether to approve this case are due to the significant differences in the competitive situation of the gaming market in each country and the fact that the competition authorities of each country focused on the impact on their domestic markets" the KFTC detailed.

Microsoft filed its appeal to the UK Competition and Authorities Commission (CMA) a few days ago and its meeting with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is still pending. Other than that, it seems that it is only a matter of time before the purchase closes and Activision Blizzard passes into the hands of Microsoft and Xbox.

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