CMA outlines next steps for Microsoft and Activision as firms work to clear deal
Microsoft and Activsion would have to present a new revised deal to the UK’s competition authority if it is to reconsider the multi-billion pound takeover deal, the agency said today.
“While the merging parties do not have the opportunity to submit new solutions once a final report has been issued, they can choose to restructure the deal, which could lead to a new merger investigation,” the agency said in a statement today. “The CMA is prepared to engage with them on this basis.”
The statement outlines the new path for the companies to try and get the deal cleared in the UK.
After a US court ruling yesterday rejected an attempt to halt the deal, the CMA said it had struck an agreement with the firms to pause their legal challenge against the regulator’s decision to block the acquisition.
The CMA previously blocked the takeover arguing it would give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the cloud computer game market.
“We stand ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns set out in our final report,” the agency said yesterday following the US ruling.
In response, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, said the firm was “considering how the transaction might be modified in order to address those concerns in a way that is acceptable to the CMA”.
The statements were made after a US judge rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) bid to block the deal because the regulator had failed to show the deal would substantially lessen competition in the gaming industry.
The FTC has until 14 July to appeal the court’s decision.
Microsoft and Activision were approached for comment.