Britain’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has received Microsoft’s arguments for reconsidering its block on the tech giant’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty. The CMA had initially blocked the deal in April, citing concerns about its impact on competition in the cloud gaming market. However, it has since reopened the case after facing opposition from other global regulators. An appeals court has granted an adjournment, and the CMA is expected to reach a new provisional view on the restructured deal in early August.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that it anticipates reaching a new provisional stance on the restructured Microsoft-Activision deal in the week starting August 7. Microsoft has provided reasons why the deal should be approved, citing the binding commitments it made to the European Union, which included allowing Activision games to be streamed for a decade after the merger. Microsoft also entered agreements with Nvidia, Boosteroid, and Ubitus, establishing a monitoring and enforcement regime to address the CMA’s concerns. The CMA acknowledged that Microsoft considered its licensing deal with Sony as a significant change of circumstance. The Competition Appeal Tribunal provisionally approved the adjournment, granting it formally on Friday.
