Microsoft announced the Activision bid in January last year,
its biggest ever, to take on leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T), in
the booming video gaming market and to venture into 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.
In addition to the licensing deals for rivals, Microsoft may
also have to offer other behavioural remedies to allay concerns of other
parties than Sony, one of the people said. Such remedies typically refer to the
future conduct of the merged company.
Activision shares, which jumped 1.8 percent in pre-market
trading after the Reuters story was published, were up 2.6 percent in late
trade.
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.
Smith said it was not feasible or realistic to think that
one game or one slice of Activision can be carved out and separated from the
rest.
The EU competition enforcer declined to comment.
Microsoft said it was "committed to offering effective
and easily enforceable solutions that address the European Commission's
concerns."
"Our commitment to grant long-term 100 percent equal
access to Call of Duty to Sony, Steam, NVIDIA and others preserves the
deal's benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the
market," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Last month, Microsoft said it had signed 10-year licensing
deals with Nintendo (7974.T) and Nvidia (NVDA.O) that will bring Call of Duty
to their gaming platforms, with the agreements conditional on a green light for
the Activision deal.
The deal faces regulatory headwinds in Britain, where the UK
competition agency has suggested that Microsoft divests Call of Duty to address
its concerns while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked a judge to
block the deal. © Reuters
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