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CMA blocks Microsoft’s purchase agreement for Activision Blizzard King
Hard setback for the aspirations to close the purchase agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King. The UK Competition Authority (CMA) has said ‘no’ to the operation of more than 68,700 million dollarsand has issued its decision through an official report.
This decision has been made public a few minutes ago. And although the report is quite extensive, the main reasons that the CMA has given to prevent the purchase have been those referred to “promote choice and innovation in cloud gaming services”, something on which, according to the document, Microsoft already controls 60-70% of the market.
The agency highlights the following quote:
“Microsoft worked constructively with us to try to resolve these issues, and we appreciate it, but their proposals were not effective in addressing our concerns and would have replaced competition with ineffective regulation in a dynamic new marketplace.”
What will happen now with the purchase agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King?
Updated 15:45: Brad Smith has issued a statement on Twitter in which it informs that they continue fully committed to the merger and will appeal the decision of the CMA in this regard.
It remains to be seen what the decisions of the FTC and the European Commission will be, whose refusals would put the operation at serious risk.
How will Microsoft proceed from this point on? For months there were already contingency plans if this situation were to occur, putting pressure on the regulatory body with a long and expensive trial that can lead to some conflicting decisions for Xbox users in the country.
