UK Clears Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal: The London Rush

Your morning roundup of key UK business news

(Bloomberg) — UK’s Competition and Markets Authority gave its final nod to Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., bringing to an end a months-long regulatory hurdle that stood in the way of the biggest ever gaming deal completion. The restructured terms, which involve selling some gaming rights to French video game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA, will preserve competition and better services, the CMA said in a statement this morning.

Key Business News

Ashmore Group Plc: The emerging markets-focused fund manager saw clients pull a net $2.9 billion from its funds in the three months through September, with assets under management dropping to $51.7 billion from $55.9 billion at the end of June, according to a trading update.

St James’s Place Plc: The wealth management firm said assessment of its fees and charging models to ensure it operates with a simple and scalable charging platform for the long term is not yet completed.

  • The statement comes in response to a Financial Times report saying the company is under pressure from regulators to overhaul its fee structure to ensure it complies with UK’s new consumer duty

What’s Next? 

Next week will see updates from industry bellwethers like Rio Tinto Plc, Schroders Plc, and Deliveroo Plc. On the macro front, we’ll get fresh prints on UK house prices, jobs and inflation.

City Moves

Sandro Patti, a partner in Bain Capital’s Special Situations division, is leaving the firm. Former Credit Suisse bankers Isla Fletcher and Julie Edinburgh are joining BNP’s credit desks. Peel Hunt named Piya Khanna as its technology chief. She most recently ran the technology group at Credit Agricole’s Global Markets unit. Barclays hired Michael Del Giudice, a former managing director in global asset management at Citigroup, as chairman of its financial sponsors group as well as Andrew Mok from UBS to cover health-care facilities & managed care.

Key Headlines

  • Metro Bank Should Recognize It’s Not a Retailer: Marc Rubinstein
  • London’s Free Newspapers Battle to Survive After Covid
  • Israel Latest: UN Staff Given Evacuation Order for Northern Gaza

For more news and analysis throughout the day, follow the UK Markets Today blog and sign up to the Money Distilled newsletter.

–With assistance from Ronan Martin.

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