U.K. regulators approved the deal Friday, ending 20 months of regulatory battles in the U.S., U.K. and Europe over what will be Microsoft’s largest acquisition. (The Logic)

Talking point: The blockbuster deal gives Microsoft a large share of the video gaming industry with Activision’s franchises including Call of Duty, Diablo and StarCraft. Regulators challenged the deal over concerns it would stifle competition. The tech giant made several concessions to get the deal done. It agreed to make Call of Duty games available to console competitors Nintendo and Sony, and license part of Activision’s cloud-gaming business to rivals. Microsoft’s win underscores the difficulty that global regulators have had in their recent efforts to curb Big Tech’s dominance, and may signal that these companies can grow even bigger. As Daniel Crane, a University of Michigan law professor, put it: “Smart money says merge now while the merging is good.”