Immediately after the news of Microsoft‘s victory in court over the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which demanded an injunction against the purchase of Activision Blizzard, it became known about the progress in another important trial. We are talking about the confrontation between Microsoft and the Competition and Markets Authority of the United Kingdom (hereinafter — CMA).
Recall that the latter in the spring imposed a ban on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. After that, Microsoft filed an appeal, which the local competition court is due to consider on July 24.
The problem is that the deal must be closed no later than July 18. In the event that this does not happen, Microsoft will have to pay Activision Blizzard as a fine of $ 3 billion.
And now, after the FTC’s loss in an American court, Microsoft reports that within the British jurisdiction, the CMA has agreed to suspend litigation. The companies agreed to discuss the terms of the deal, to talk about what can be changed in it to dispel the concerns of the regulator.
The CMA vetoed the deal because it believed it would harm competition in the cloud gaming market. In her opinion, the purchase of Activision Blizzard will give Microsoft significant advantages in the market, which already belongs to it by 60-70%.