UK MPs question why the CMA blocked Microsoft's $68.7B Activision Blizzard deal, CMA says it won't be 'turning a blind eye to anti-competitive mergers'

pcgamer.com:

Yesterday saw Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard given regulatory approval by the EU Commission(opens in new tab). That's one major stumbling block out of the way, but Microsoft still faces an uphill battle in the UK and US (and other territories) to get the deal approved. In the UK's case the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) dropped the bombshell(opens in new tab) several weeks ago that it would block the deal, which Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are extremely unhappy about. 

In the immediate aftermath of this decision, various executives from both companies tore at their garments while bemoaning their «darkest day»(opens in new tab) in the UK, issuing dire warnings about the country «not being open for business» and so on. In a way that's just chest-beating corporate talk from people who all stand to make a lot of money if the deal does go through, but it's also clearly made an impression on some members of parliament. The UK is currently governed by the Conservative party, which represents the traditionally pro-business right wing, but the Business and Trade Committee (BTC) has MPs from all parties, and its role is to scrutinise government.

This morning saw the CMA's chair Marcus Bokkerink and chief executive Sarah Cardell being grilled by the BTC about the decision (thanks, Eurogamer). The session lasted just over an hour (it can be viewed here(opens in new tab)) and the CMA bosses were asked to justify the regulator's decision, asked why the EU Commission came to a different decision, and even asked about whether it had considered the effect on the UK's global reputation.

«I understand the inference that when a decision is made that blocks a deal, there are questions