Activision Blizzard held a stockholder meeting today to discuss Microsoft‘s proposed acquisition of the juggernaut for $95.00 per share, which accumulates to a staggering $68.7 billion, a sum previously unheard of in the gaming industry.
According to a report by Business Wire, more than 98% of the votes were in favor, which means that the only obstacle standing between Xbox claiming dozens of best-selling and acclaimed titles for its extensive Game Pass library is the Federal Trade Commission, currently busy reviewing the merger to see if the move constitutes a monopoly.
Amid all of these developments, Jason Schreier of Bloomberg reports that Wall Street is betting on Biden’s antitrust laws to stop the merger in its tracks. It seems that Activision’s shares are currently valued at 25% below what Microsoft’s proposing, which could also explain why the shareholders are eager to see the deal through. But at the same time, this makes the prospects of the buyout risky, especially in investors’ eyes.
Microsoft is expected to become an unrivaled force in the gaming industry if this deal goes through, bringing over money-making machines like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch to its ecosystem and pumping out exclusive titles for Xbox Series X|S and PC at an unprecedented rate.
Of course, the fact that the company preemptively announced the acquisition a few months ago, with Microsoft CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer speaking as though Activision is already under their supervision, implies that the software giant’s legal team is confident the buyout will be approved, one way or another.