In a UK poll by Censuswide, the majority of respondents said the CMA’s decision in the Microsoft case was wrong.
The international market analysis company census-wide conducted a survey of the British population. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is attracting more and more attention, especially in England.
According to the report, a quarter of respondents think the CMA would not be okay with blocking the deal. Accordingly, it would be every fourth citizen who would have voted for a takeover.
On the other hand, 16 percent of respondents would also reject a takeover. The discussion about the deal is spicy for England. The country is currently planning to tighten the regulations within England for the resident technology companies.
Jobs are also attached here, which explains the interest of the general public in the case. The background is that these changes to the law can have serious consequences for the market.
The CMA would be given the opportunity to impose fines on companies directly. Mergers could also be rejected more easily in this way as soon as their own set of rules is not observed or they could identify a threat to the economy. That would be fatal, especially for companies like Microsoft, including Activision. Suddenly, the economic market as a location in England could no longer be interesting.
Twenty-eight percent of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed said the CMA’s decision would further hurt the UK economy through lack of investment. In an interview, Bobby Kotick also mentioned reconsidering plans for a location in England. On the other hand, only 12 percent of those surveyed did not consider the situation to be precarious and voted against this statement in the survey.
Jon McLeod, Partner and Head of Competition and Antitrust at DRD Partnership, commissioned this study. He said: “These results show that competitive decisions cannot be aligned with public aspirations for access to innovative products and services.”
“The clamor of protest over the CMA’s decision in the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard case reflects dwindling confidence in the UK regulatory system, which some had hoped would improve after Brexit.”
It is currently awaited when Microsoft will appeal the verdict.