Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc faces a major decision in Britain, as the country’s merger watchdog, as the global regulator, will set a date for the unveiling of a ruling that will determine who During which the path of completing the huge deal, or canceling it.
In the coming days, the Competition and Markets Authority is expected to issue its initial ruling, which will indicate whether it aims to block the deal or complete it through specific measures such as sales. The regulator has already reported concerns that the deal could cause competition issues in the console and subscription market, as well as the promising cloud gaming sector.
Microsoft first announced the deal last year, as part of its aspirations to add popular games such as Call of Duty to a portfolio that already includes the Xbox console and franchise.hello(Halo), the virtual world building gameMaine Craft” (Minecraft).
But this connection has hurt global regulators, who fear that it will prompt Microsoft to make it difficult for competing platforms to gain unfettered access to Activision’s most popular titles. Crucially, the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision will come before decisions made by both the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission, which will be subject to a lengthy legal process after a formal lawsuit is filed to block the deal.
Britain investigates Microsoft’s purchase of Activision
Possible judicial annulment
“The CMA’s decision is key because if it decides to block the deal, there is no way for the two companies, as the UK courts rarely overturn a CMA merger decision,” said Jennifer Ray, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. And she added, “The conditions must be comprehensive, so that they go beyond just licenses for the game (Call of Duty),” noting that “obtaining an unconditional permit is unlikely.”