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Microsoft Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Faces Scrutiny in the U.K.
Blizzard
Pubblicato
06/07/2022 alle 15:56
da
Archimtiros
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is facing increased international scrutiny, as the United Kingdom's
Competition and Markets Authority has opened an initial inquiry
to determine whether the merger would result in a substantial lessening of competition, hurting competition through higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice. As reported by
The Associated Press
, the United Kingdom's antitrust watchdog is currently collecting feedback to decide in September whether to launch an official investigation.
While this timeline doesn't give them a lot of time to act before the intended merger completion date of July 2023, it is key to note that neither the CMA or the United States Federal Trade Commission (which has been looking into the deal since at least March) actually need to give their approval for the transaction to occur - their regulatory oversight instead gives them the power to intervene, even after official acquisition, so time isn't necessarily a limiting factor. Despite both being American companies, Activision and Microsoft also aren't immune to the laws and regulations of other countries they do business in unless they want to pull out of that market entirely, which is rarely an appealing prospect. Both of these points have come up previously, with the same Competition and Markets Authority
ordering Facebook to sell Giphy
last November, more than a year after acquisition, though that ruling is
still in the process of being appealed
.
Should the CMA continue their inquiry and move forward with a full investigation, any ruling against the merger could have the potential to stop the deal, though its more likely it would result in some
concessions being made in order to appease regulators
while still letting the deal go through. For their part, Microsoft has pledged their full cooperation with the probe, with
CNBC quoting
Microsoft Corporate Vice President and General Counsel Lisa Tanzi and noting that shares of Microsoft and Activision were barely moved by news of the potential investigation, suggesting that shareholders remain unconcerned.
Lisa Tanzi, via CNBC
We will fully cooperate with the CMA's merger review. We expect and think it's appropriate for regulators to take a close look at this acquisition. We have been clear about how we plan to run our gaming business and why we believe the deal will benefit gamers, developers, and the industry. We're committed to answering questions from regulators and ultimately believe a thorough review will help the deal close with broad confidence, and that it will be positive for competition. We remain confident the deal will close in fiscal year 2023 as initially anticipated.
Announced last January, the United States Federal Trade Commission has similarly been looking into the deal
since at least February
Although it feels like the authority is a bit late to the party, considering the sale was announced
nearly six months ago
and the United States Federal Trade Commission has similarly been looking into the deal since at least March, this is not yet a full investigation, with the regulatory body only gathering feedback before deciding in September whether to launch an official investigation. This would give them even less time to intervene in the process before its intended merger completion date of July 2023.
Despite both being American companies, Activision and Microsoft aren't immune to the laws and regulations of other countries they do business in, as evidenced by the same Competition and Markets Authority
ordering Facebook to sell Giphy
last year, though that ruling is
still in the process of being appealed
.
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