Activision Blizzard stockholders overwhelmingly positive to Microsoft acquisition

When Microsoft announced their intent to buy Activision Blizzard, they also said they expected it to take more than a year to finalise the deal. There were two major hurdles along the way that needed to be sorted out, with one of them being the opinion of Activision Blizzard stockholders.

Late Thursday, it was time for the big vote during a Special Meeting of Stockholders, to see if Microsoft's cash offer would be approved. As reported by Business Wire, it went through without even a hitch, with more than 98% supporting the deal. The acquisition will be finalised on June 30. The Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said:

"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."

The next and final hurdle for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to pass is governmental approval from mainly USA, EU and China. As this is the biggest deal Microsoft has ever made (LinkedIn was the second biggest and didn't even cost half of what they are paying for Activision Blizzard) and also the by far biggest deal ever in the video game industry (in dollars way bigger than the next ten video game acquisitions combined), this is expected to take quite some time.