Microsoft's appeal against the UK CMA's decision is likely to be heard in late July and the technology company claims to have received approvals from 10 regulators, including the European Commission (EC), to go ahead with the merger
Microsoft accuses UK CMA of being an outlier for blocking $68.7bn acquisition of Activision. (Credit: Jiaqian AirplaneFan/Wikimedia Commons)
Microsoft has reportedly accused the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of being an “outlier” in its decision to block the previously announced $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard over concerns that it would stifle the cloud gaming market.
Last week, the technology company was reported to have formally submitted an appeal against the regulator’s decision to block the deal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
Microsoft lawyer Daniel Beard has been quoted by Reuters as saying: “The CMA is the outlier here in its position. It creates the uncertainty that risks derailing this deal and it is for that reason that speed is of the essence.”
“It is only here that we have this uncertainty in terms of there being a decision which we say is fundamentally wrong and purports to stop this merger worldwide in relation to a tiny part of the gaming industry.”
Microsoft’s appeal against the UK CMA’s decision is likely to be heard in late July, reported the news agency citing a judge at the CAT.
Beard has also said to the CAT that if the process does not move forward rapidly, it will jeopardise the proposed deal being completed.
Microsoft claims to have received approvals from 10 regulators, including the European Commission (EC), to go ahead with the merger.
The British competition watchdog blocked the deal last month citing that the proposed merger would result in reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the next years.
Its decision to block the acquisition came following the failure of Microsoft’s suggested solutions to satisfactorily address the issues raised in the regulator’s provisional findings published in February this year.
According to the publication, Activision has also requested to intervene in the appeal against the CMA’s decision, pointing out that the deal has a drop-dead date of 18 July 2023.