Chile swiftly approves Microsoft-Activision merger in Phase 1 proceedings

The Microsoft-Activision merger has been approved in Chile, marking the third worldwide regulator to allow the deal to go through.

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Chile's Fiscalia Nacional Economica (FNE) regulatory office has approved Microsoft's $68.7 billion merger of Activision-Blizzard, the national agency has announced. Chile's FNE greenlit the deal in Phase 1 proceedings, whereas the deal is being heavily scrutinized in Phases 2 and 3 in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.

The FNE finds that the merger will not substantially affect or lower competition in the country. However the swift approval is likely due to the fact that Call of Duty is not as popular in Latin America as it is in other regions--which is something that Brazilian regulator CADE also found. The FNE notes that "the relevance of Call of Duty would be comparatively less in Latin America than in other regions of the world."

"The FNE approved in Phase 1 the merger operation consisting of the acquisition of control in Activision Blizzard, Inc (ABK) by Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), after ruling out that this is apt to substantially reduce competition.

"These companies carry out activities in the same segments: development, publication and distribution of video games; and on different levels, with Microsoft producing the Xbox console and other video game platforms, such as GamePass, whereby their activities overlap both horizontally and vertically.

"The Prosecutor's Office considered that the operation was not suitable to substantially reduce competition considering, among other evidence, patterns and preferences of video game consumers in Chile.

The merger has now been approved in four markets including Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile and Serbia.

It is worth noting that these regions typically do not have a significant impact on Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony earnings, and that Activision Blizzard King combines both North and South America in its earnings reports (it is implied that South American countries do not spend nearly as much as North American countries).