Overview
Image: Activision Blizzard / Depositphotos
Microsoft President Brad Smith said the CMA has been tough and fair on the Activision Blizzard deal.
On the BBC Radio 4 program, Brad Smith spoke about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Now that the deal has been finalized and Microsoft has restructured its UK business, Microsoft’s president had nicer words about the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The competition authority is “tough and fair,” as he said in the interview.
During the takeover it sounded completely different. When the CMA blocked the deal, Smith said confidence in Britain was badly shaken. He even called it the “blackest day” in Microsoft’s 40 years of operations in the country. The EU is also a more attractive place for companies than Great Britain.
Smith said of his past comments: “I certainly learned a lot personally. I wouldn’t necessarily back down from all the concerns I raised in my speech in April, but I might choose slightly different words to make my point.”
Speaking about the CMA’s restructuring, Smith also said: “The CMA has set a strict standard and I respect that. In my opinion it was tough and fair. She pushed Microsoft to amend our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard to carve out certain rights that were important to the CMA in relation to cloud gaming.”
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