Microsoft is not willing to give up after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the purchase of Activision Blizzard. The Redmond giant has decided appeal the decision of the British regulator, so everything seems to indicate that in July he will be able to present his case before the British Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT).
However, as reported by Reuters, the owners of the Xbox brand are especially concerned about the deadlines and hope that everything ends quickly with a positive final outcome. It is that, if the operation is not completed before July 18 of this year, Microsoft will have to pay Activision Blizzard 3,000 million dollars for breach of contract.
For Microsoft, the CMA goes against the grain
The Redmond firm’s legal team has said that if the process “does not move quickly, it puts the merger in jeopardy.” In this sense, they point out that a dozen regulators, including the competition authority of the European Union, have approved the operation, but the British antitrust body has taken the opposite path. “The CMA is atypical in its position,” they say.
Microsoft has insisted this week that the CMA’s decision is incorrect and that, in addition to creating “uncertainty”, it seeks to cancel the purchase worldwide, not only in the United Kingdom. For the American company, this is not the right path if one takes into account that the British market constitutes a “small part” of the global video game industry.
According to the CMA, the purchase of Activision Blizzard would give Microsoft a significant competitive advantage in the cloud gaming arena. This was one of the reasons why the British organization, after listening to Sony and other actors involved in some way in the operation, vetoed the purchase of Activision Blizzard, in order to protect innovation and competition within the industry. .
But, it should be noted, that the obstacles that Microsoft must overcome are not only found in the United Kingdom. The company also aims to convince the US FTC. Although the regulator of the North American country has not yet given its final verdict, it positioned itself against the agreement in December of last year, so it could still receive a second blow that knocks down the agreement.
It is not yet known how this 68.7 billion dollar soap opera will end. And remember, it’s about the largest acquisition operation of the history of the video game industry. When Microsoft and Activision Blizzard signed the initial deal, they knew they were facing scrutiny from a dozen regulators, and even competitors like Sony who got out their claws and tried to block it.
Images: Microsoft | CMA
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