Activision Blizzard’s shareholders voted today to approve the company’s pending acquisition of Microsoft, but that does not mean it is a complete deal, with several other obstacles left.
Announced via press release today, over 98% of the shares voted for the acquisition, which is expected to close sometime in the upcoming Microsoft fiscal year, which is between July 2022 and June 2023.
Voters approved the purchase at $ 95 per share – significantly higher than the recent share price, which has slowly fallen over the past month from the low $ 80 range and has hovered between $ 76 and $ 77 per share over the past few days.
The falling share price prior to the trade could indicate a lack of confidence in shareholders that the trade will eventually survive. Although the vote was overwhelming, there are a number of other possible challenges between now and the final conclusion of the agreement.
A major obstacle is the likelihood of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Lina Khan, its newly appointed leader, has already shown a willingness to tackle major technological antitrust issues, including blocking an Nvidia acquisition and reopening the case against Meta. The agreement will also require regulatory approvals abroad, including in China.
The Activision Blizzard acquisition comes at a time of ongoing turbulence in and around the company. The deal itself has given rise to allegations of insider trading, but even more notable is the ongoing lawsuit in California against the publisher, which accuses it of promoting a “frat boy culture” as well as exposing female employees to unequal pay and sexual harassment.