Clear the ring for the next round. After the negative decision of the British CMA against the takeover of Activision Blizzard, the appeal is now pending and the date is set.
We remember: although 37 countries, including recently the EU, China and South Korea, have given their approval for the planned takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for a whopping 69 billion US dollars, the British Competition and Market Authority (CMA) opposed it and has withheld its approval, primarily due to possible implications for the fledgling cloud gaming market.
It was clear that Microsoft would not accept this decision without a fight. Microsoft’s appeal covers various points and accuses the CMA, among other things, of misjudging the cloud gaming market, ignoring the agreements already made (including with GeForce NOW) and a “violation” of its “common law duty of fairness” and its own “Remedial Action Guidelines”.
The submitted appeal now goes before the relevant Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), i.e. the competent court of appeal. The same set a specific date as part of a preliminary hearing. The hearings are scheduled to start on July 24th.
In the statement setting the date, the judge in charge said: “I do not expect the full 10 days to be taken, but I would like the parties to opt for longer oral arguments rather than shorter ones. I think that we can afford to go beyond that. There is a tendency – and that comes from the court rather than the parties – to make pleadings shorter than perhaps they should be. In this case, I want to do the opposite. I want the Parties understand that we want to give them every opportunity to address the difficulties of this case in the oral submissions and that we have the time to do so.”
Microsoft would have liked to have held the hearings as early as June, but the CMA pushed for a later date to prepare. Microsoft’s position is clear: “The CMA’s decision is flawed for a number of reasons, including overestimating the role of cloud streaming in the gaming market and our position within it, and being unwilling to consider solutions advocated by the industry and be overwhelmingly supported by the public.”
Earlier, CAT has scheduled a second Case Management Conference on June 12 to discuss factual and expert evidence issues. Should discussions during this session indicate that the preliminary hearing dates need to be adjourned, that remains a possibility. Should the CAT decide in favor of Microsoft and revoke the blockade of the CMA, the whole matter will go before the CMA for revision.
The UK is the only region so far to have opposed the deal. However, Microsoft could also have problems in the USA, where the FTC is pending a lawsuit against the entire deal.
