Microsoft is now in a position to buy Activision Blizzard after an unsuccessful bid by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for an injunction, and the company is eyeing British regulators to clear the deal.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the acquisition in April, and Microsoft quickly appealed, saying it would explore other options for acquiring Activision Blizzard. The CMA also tried to delay Microsoft’s appeal, but the effort was blocked by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT).
President of Microsoft Brad Smith tweeted Regarding the federal judge’s decision in favor of the company, we issue the following statement: “We thank the San Francisco court for this swift and thorough decision and hope that other jurisdictions will continue to work towards a timely resolution. As we have indicated throughout In doing so, we commit to creatively and collaboratively addressing regulatory issues.
“Following today’s US court decision, our attention is now returning to the UK. While we ultimately disagree with the CMA’s concerns, we are considering how the deal can be amended to address them in a manner acceptable to the CMA. China Administration association.”
The CMA and Microsoft appear to have agreed to negotiate a deal for Activision Blizzard in the UK after the FTC failed to block the takeover, but the lawsuit is now on hold.
“Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed with the CMA that a stay of proceedings in the UK is in the public interest and have jointly submitted submissions to the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT),” smith says.
In May, the European Commission approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, after Activision Blizzard made a 10-year commitment to its cloud services and kept “Call of Duty” on PlayStation and brought it to Nintendo systems.
The agency found that Microsoft has no incentive to block games on competing consoles in Europe, especially since the PlayStation is the best-selling console in Europe and Call of Duty is not as popular in the region compared to the U.S. market.
