Exclusive-EU unlikely to demand asset sales in Microsoft, Activision deal, sources say

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Microsoft’s readiness to offer licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision without the need for asset sales, three people familiar with the matter said.

The European Commission is not expected to demand that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) sell assets to win its approval, the people said.

Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the U.S. software giant was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision’s lucrative “Call of Duty” franchise.

The EU competition enforcer declined to comment.

Microsoft said it was “committed to offering effective  and  easily  enforceable solutions  that address the European Commission’s concerns”.

“Our commitment to grant long term 100% equal access to  Call of Duty to Sony (NYSE:SONY), Steam,  NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and others  preserves the deal’s benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market,” a spokesperson said.