What you need to know
- Microsoft agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard back in January 2022.
- The deal will take time to complete, with regulatory review and shareholder approval required.
- Activision Blizzard shareholders have overwhelmingly voted to approve the deal.
Microsoft's deal to acquire Activision Blizzard isn't done yet, but one big step is now done.
Activision Blizzard shareholders have overwhelmingly voted to approve the deal, with more than 98% of the votes saying yes, per a press release on Thursday. While Activsion Blizzard's board of directors had previously approved the deal, a Special Meeting was held to garner shareholder votes on the proposal.
"Today's overwhelmingly supportive vote by our stockholders confirms our shared belief that, combined with Microsoft, we will be even better positioned to create great value for our players, even greater opportunities for our employees, and to continue our focus on becoming an inspiring example of a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive workplace," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft is working to acquire Activision Blizzard for almost $69 billion, or $95 per share. The deal is currently slated to finalize sometime in Microsoft's fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. If it passes regulatory review in the U.S, EU, U.K, and China, the deal will add Activision Blizzard alongside Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks as Xbox first-party publishers. Activision Blizzard consists of numerous studios across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, and King.
Activision Blizzard and Kotick faced heavy scrutiny since July 2021, with a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard alleging that the company allowed sexist workplace practices and abuse to go unpunished. Activision Blizzard's stock price fell heavily in the months following the lawsuit. this also comes as Raven Software QA employees are voting to unionize. If approved, the union will be one of the first at a major gaming publisher in the U.S.
