The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has overcome, with more or less difficulty, a dozen regulatory bodies from different parts of the world. Yesterday, without going any further, the Redmond company achieved a notable victory against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but the soap opera is not over yet.
The recent ruling by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, which paved the way in the United States, left the worldwide completion of the operation valued at 68.7 billion dollars in the hands of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It is that now the British regulator is the only one that is blocking the agreement.
Hopes rise, but the story continues
There is no doubt that the events that took place yesterday have favored Microsoft, but the company is not in a position to celebrate an absolute victory, at least for now. After the backing of the US Justice, the CMA granted an appeal pause scheduled for July 28 for a negotiation instance.
This step translated into a significant jump in the probabilities that the operation will end up closing. According to analysts consulted by Bloomberg, the percentage increased from 40 to 80%. As we can see, we are still far from 100% for different reasons. And this is where the CMA’s response still leaves some uncertainty.
The British competition authority has sent a statement to Reuters in which he remarks that his final resolution on the case still stands. It also notes that while Microsoft and Activision Blizzard no longer have the opportunity to file new legal remedies, “they may choose to restructure the dealwhich could lead to a new investigation.”
Regarding this last possibility, the agency ensures that it is willing to adopt a compromise position with the parties involved in the purchase operation. However, they ensure that discussions in this regard are “at an early stage and the nature and timing of the next steps will be determined in due course.”
Now all eyes are on what will happen between Microsoft and the CMA. The truth is that there are no official details beyond the latest statement from the regulator. From the American chain CNBC they say that those of Redmond offered “a small and discreet sale” to address concerns emerging from the UK.
We do not know the nature of this possible disinvestment, but let us remember that the body’s concerns are located in the field of a specific field. The agency thinks that the purchase of Activision Blizzard would give Microsoft a decisive competitive advantage in the field of gaming in the cloud, so there is a possibility that the moves will come from that sphere.
Images: chris robert | Microsoft
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