Microsoft and the UK will pause fighting to negotiate
After getting the good news from Judge Corley, the company agreed to a CMA pause in its appeals process to discuss how the regulator’s concerns could be resolved before beginning the hearing scheduled for July 28.
“Following today’s US court decision, our focus now turns to the UK. While we ultimately disagree with the CMA’s concerns, we are considering how the transaction could be modified to address those concerns.” said Brad Smith, vice president of Microsoft.
The CMA confirmed to The Verge that the regulator is “ready to consider any proposal from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that addresses the concerns set out in our final report.”
“We are optimistic that the ruling points a path towards regulatory approval around the world. We stand ready to work with UK regulators to address any remaining concerns so our merger can close quickly,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said.
For its part, an FTC spokesperson said they are disappointed by the outcome, as the merger poses a “clear threat” to competition from cloud gaming, subscription services and consoles. “In the coming days we will be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers,” he said in a response to CNBC.
