Investing.com -- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has proposed a revised version of its merger with "Call of Duty"-maker Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) in a bid to receive approval from U.K. competition authorities for the video-gaming industry's largest-ever tie-up.
Under the terms of the new deal, Microsoft said Activision would sell its cloud streaming rights outside the European Economic Area to French rival Ubisoft (EPA:UBIP). Microsoft, meanwhile, would not be able to release Activision's titles exclusively on its Xbox Cloud Gaming service.
Paris-listed shares in Ubisoft climbed by more than 7%, while both Microsoft and Activision saw their stocks move higher in premarket U.S. trading.
The restructured transaction aims to appease Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has become the final regulatory body to stand in the way of the $69 billion merger. On Tuesday, the CMA unveiled a final order blocking the original form of the deal, citing worries over innovation in the lucrative cloud gaming market.
Microsoft argued that the fresh proposal was "substantially different" than its predecessor. But the CMA stressed that the altered merger does not yet have a "green light," adding that it will still assess the deal "carefully and objectively."
Both Microsoft and Activision say they hope the CMA will announce their decision prior to October 18, when the companies have set a deadline to close the merger.
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