Microsoft Completes $69 Billion Activision Blizzard Purchase (1)

Microsoft Corp. completed its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. after a nearly two-year fight with global regulators threatened to scuttle the deal.

The biggest-ever acquisition in the video game industry gives the maker of Xbox consoles a more formidable position against rivals, vaulting it from fifth to third place globally, behind Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Sony Group Corp. The acquisition is a stunning turnaround after Microsoft executives underestimated the magnitude and longevity of antitrust objections, forcing the software giant to seek a three-month extension of the deal’s expiration period from Activision.

Shares of Microsoft rose 0.2% at ...