Why Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Hinges on London Not Washington

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. takeover faces a key decision in Britain as the nation's merger watchdog marks its arrival as a global regulator with findings that could set the trajectory to the mega deal finalizing — or falling apart.

The Competition and Markets Authority is expected in the coming days to issue its provisional findings, signaling whether it aims to block the deal or clear it with specific remedies such as selloffs. The regulator already flagged concerns that the deal could cause competition issues in the consoles and subscriptions market, as well as the more nascent cloud gaming sector.

Microsoft first announced the transaction last year, looking to add blockbuster games like Call of Duty to a business that already includes the Xbox console, the Halo franchise and Minecraft world-building software.

But the tie-up has fallen foul of global regulators who fear that Microsoft could make it harder for rival platforms to get unfettered access to Activision's most popular titles. Crucially, the CMA's filing will come before decisions from the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission, which is locked in a lengthy legal process after formally suing to veto the transaction.

“The CMA's decision is key because if it chooses to block the deal, there is little recourse for the companies — UK courts rarely overturn a CMA merger decision,” said Jennifer Rie, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Conditions will have to be thorough, beyond just licenses for Call of Duty,” she said, adding that “an unconditional clearance is unlikely.”

Microsoft this week received the EU regulators' initial findings in a so-called statement of objections, laying out the bloc's key concerns about