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Microsoft Seals $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

The company announced the deal after British regulators gave their approval.

Microsoft completed its acquisition of games publisher Activision Blizzard on Friday, the company said in a regulatory filing. The $68.7 billion deal was finally sealed after it was first announced 21 months ago, with regulators in both the U.S. and U.K. voicing concerns about the gaming industry’s biggest ever takeover. Earlier on Friday, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave the deal its approval after initially blocking the bid in April. The acquisition unites Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform and Xbox Game Studios with Activision, which is the home of popular game franchises including Call of Duty and Candy Crush. As a result of the biggest transaction in Microsoft’s history, it’s now the third-largest gaming company in the world in terms of revenue, behind just Tencent and Sony.