Britain’s top antitrust enforcer pushed back against claims that the watchdog was forced into a reconsidering its Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. deal veto as global regulators moved to back the acquisition.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority was very clear with its decision on the deal “that there were serious concerns from this transaction” and didn’t succumb to outside pressure, Sarah Cardell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Kriti Gupta. The regulator may still block the deal after a new investigation, she said.
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 Federal Trade Commission lose a US court battle and Microsoft declare a truce with rival Sony Group Corp. to license the Call of Duty franchise for 10 years. The European Commission cleared the deal. The UK watchdog had initially vetoed the deal in April
“The remedies that were put forward by Microsoft at the time did not satisfy, did not resolve those concerns,” and the authority’s “prohibition decision stands,” Cardell said. “Now, it is up to Microsoft if they want to come up with a proposal that they think will address those concerns.”
One potential option that remains on the table is to force Microsoft to sell off its blockbuster game franchise Call of Duty. Originally the firm said that it wasn’t something they would consider.
“We found that there were serious concerns in relation to cloud gaming and the proposals that were put forward by Microsoft at the time did not resolve our competition concerns,” Cardell said. “So Microsoft have indicated that they are considering how they might restructure the deal in a way that resolves our concerns.”
A UK competition court agreed to a provisional pause of Microsoft’s appeal this week and a lawyer for the CMA said ongoing talks with the parties had been productive. Microsoft will now need to submit a restructured deal proposal to the agency, and a new probe may be triggered.
Microsoft and Activision announced they were extending the deal deadline to give them more time to iron out regulatory issues. Microsoft also agreed to increase the amount it would pay to Activision in case either side terminates the deal to $3.5 billion from $3 billion after Aug. 29, and to $4.5 billion after Sept. 15.
Cardell took over as CEO at the regulator full-time in December from predecessor Andrea Coscelli, becoming the first woman to run the agency.
--With assistance from Jonathan Browning, Kriti Gupta and Dani Burger.
(Updates with more comment from Sarah Cardell throughout)
