Microsoft's Licensing Offer Likely To Satisfy EU on Activision

Microsoft's offer of licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision, Reuters reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter said, helping it to clear a major hurdle. From the report: Microsoft announced the Activision bid in January last year, its biggest ever, to take on leaders Tencent and Sony, in the booming videogaming market and to venture in the metaverse which is virtual online worlds where people can work, play and socialise.The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by April 25, is not expected to demand that Microsoft sell assets to win its approval, the people said. Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the U.S. software group was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision's lucrative "Call of Duty" franchise.

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