The State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR) cleared the blockbuster US$69 billion takeover bid. Seeking Alpha reported that the deal was approved by the Chinese regulator on May 19.
The SAMR gave the green light to the takeover “unconditionally”, according to a statement published to its official website. The approval was dated May 18.
The deal has so far been approved by nearly 40 countries, including 27 in the European Union, along with Japan and Brazil. However, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal last month. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also sued to block the $95 a share deal for Activision in December, with a trial scheduled to start in August.
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.
In April, NetEase slapped Blizzard Entertainment with a lawsuit in a Shanghai court to demand 300 million yuan (US$45 million) in compensation.
Source: SCMP
