Activision Blizzard Shareholders Approve Microsoft Acquisition

Probably the biggest news this year came out back in January when Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard. Not only the gaming world, but most of the media was in shock seeing the size of this purchase. Microsoft paid a whopping $70 Billion for the publisher behind Call of Duty and everyone in the industry felt the impact. Sony’s stock took a huge dip right after this news broke and we have seen a lot of takeovers since. However, a deal like this doesn’t happen instantly and a lot of barriers are in the way. One of these roadblocks has just been crossed by Microsoft.

Shareholders of Activision Blizzard have officially given their approval for the acquisition by Microsoft. More than 98% of the votes were in the favor of this transaction, according to a recent press release from Activision Blizzard. The vote took place in a special meeting on the 28th of April, 2022. Voting for such things can go either way, especially if the companies aren’t on the same page. However, thankfully, Microsoft didn’t have to face this problem as the vote has been almost unanimously in favor of the acquisition. Many people did think that the acquisition may fail at this stage but the predictions have turned out to be false.

“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,” stated Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard.

The acquisition will be complete on June 30, 2023, according to the press release. Deals like this do take time, so it isn’t hard to see why this one will take this long. One thing is for sure though, however, the future of Microsoft and their new studio is going to be very exciting. Reducing workplace toxicity is one of the major plans of the new parent company. Activision Blizzard has got a lot of bad press due to their bad work environment. Hopefully, that will change soon. This acquisition still has to get approval from the government, so this is just the start. However, today’s vote is a step in the right direction for this huge purchase from Microsoft.