Microsoft and British CMA sign peace to agree to buy Activision Blizzard

After defeating the FTC and unlocking the purchase Activision Blizzard in the United States Microsoft she does not want to stop there and does her best to seek the approval of the UK. That’s why those from Redmond and CMA they will pause the legal conflict they are having and they will try to negotiate a solution.

This does not necessarily guarantee that the UK regulators will be ready to approve the acquisition with their eyes closed. However, this is a very interesting turn of events. Both Microsoft and CMA have decided to put their pending litigation on hold in order to find a waypoint that could potentially make a $69 billion deal possible.

Brad SmithMicrosoft Chairman, confirmed rapprochement with the UK Competition and Markets Authority. Demonstration goodwill on both sides, if you will, looking for a way out of the Activision Blizzard situation. A case that even sparked tension between the regulator and mainstream London political circles.

“Following today’s ruling in the US, our focus is now on the UK. While we ultimately disagree with the CMA’s concerns, we are considering changing the deal to address these concerns in a way that is more acceptable to the CMA. To prioritize these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that it would be in the public interest to suspend the UK litigation, and the parties have filed a joint submission with the Competition Court of Appeal to that effect.”

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft.

Now the already aforementioned Competition Court of Appeal will determine whether it actually adjourns the trial. In any case, being a joint presentation, it is unlikely that the application will be rejected.

Microsoft and UK ready to negotiate Activision Blizzard

With the approval of the European Commission and the rejection of the US FTC’s blocking request, the latest major regulator to oppose the purchase of Activision Blizzard is the United Kingdom’s CMA. Recall that the agency vetoed the acquisition at the end of April, arguing that it would be anti-competitive in a certain segment: cloud games. Microsoft appealed the decision, and the first hearing was scheduled for July 28. However, this meeting will be postponed for now.

It is curious in this case that before the veto The CMA seemed to be the regulator that came closest to approving the Activision Blizzard takeover by Microsoft.. In March, he indicated that he did not believe in the future. call of Duty This was a source of concern for competitors as they felt that the Redmonds had no incentive to make the franchise exclusive to Xbox. Thus, one of the arguments of the main opponent of the PlayStation agreement was refuted, and the Americans won a kind of mini-victory. But the landscape changed dramatically in a matter of weeks.

Despite Microsoft’s commitment to multiple platforms cloud games – including NVIDIA GeForce Now and Nware – to offer Activision Blizzard games there, British regulators realized it was better to block the purchase. In fact, they were very critical of the European Commission when, shortly after, it decided to give the green light to the agreement.

More time for discussion

There has been speculation recently that, unless regulators change their minds, Microsoft was ready to close Activision Blizzard in Britain. A decision that would lead to the lowering of the blinds in her offices, studios and distribution operations. Something that, if implemented, can lead to very negative economic and labor consequences.

It wasn’t in vain Jeremy Hunt, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has been openly critical of the blocking of the takeover. “I don’t want to interfere with their independence, but they need to understand their wider responsibility,” he told the CMA. And shortly after he met with Brad Smith to try lowering the voltage following a wake-up call from the Microsoft chairman who said: “Here’s a clear message: The European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the UK.”

It will be necessary to see what new negotiations will result in. The fact that the parties are suspending the lawsuit does not necessarily mean that Activision’s purchase of Blizzard is already on its way to getting UK approval. However, the slap the US FTC took today seems to have shifted the chips in favor of those from Redmond. And it is clear that Phil Spencer, Satya Nadella and company do not want to miss this potential advantage.