Microsoft Corp.’s once seemingly doomed $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard Inc. gained more momentum after Britain’s antitrust appeals court paved the way for the companies to thrash out alternatives to a UK veto.
At a hearing in London on Monday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal said a case challenging the UK regulator’s proposed ban could be “conditionally” paused after last week’s unprecedented move to open up fresh talks on remedies.
Both the Competition and Markets Authority and Microsoft had sought to suspend the case, arguing it was overtaken by the CMA’s surprise announcement last week that it was open to negotiations on a new remedy to allay its earlier concerns.
This came on the back of a crushing court defeat by the US’s Federal Trade Commission, which had also sought to block the takeover, and was followed by
The CMA is the only regulator that’s standing in the way of Microsoft getting the deal over the finish line after a week of drama that saw the FTC’s loss and the software firm’s truce with rival Sony Group Corp. to license the Call of Duty franchise for 10 years
While neither side gave details of what changes Microsoft had offered to win over UK regulators this time around, a lawyer for the CMA told the hearing that talks had already been “productive.”
Microsoft’s offer gives the parties “real confidence” that its concerns can be addressed, the lawyer said.
The companies are considering giving up some control of their cloud-gaming business in the UK as a way to clinch the deal, Bloomberg has reported.
Read More: Microsoft Holds ‘Productive’ Talks in Bid to Clear UK Hurdle
(Updates with more detail in the second paragraph)
