UK blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision
Britain on Wednesday blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion (€62 billion) acquisition of US video game giant Activision Blizzard, owner of hit games “Candy Crush” and “Call Of Duty”, arguing that this would hurt competition in cloud gaming.
The country’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said Microsoft’s commitment to offering access to Activision’s multibillion-dollar “Call of Duty” franchise to major cloud gaming platforms would not effectively address its concerns.
The regulator said it held back the deal “over concerns … (it) would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and fewer options for UK gamers for years to come”.
Microsoft, which owns the Xbox, announced its bid for Activision in January 2022 to increase its firepower in the video game market, sparking antitrust concerns around the world. Europe will decide on the deal with Activision by May 22nd. The US Federal Trade Commission is also trying to block it.
Microsoft and Activision will appeal the verdict
Both companies expressed deep disappointment with Britain’s decision regarding the massive acquisition, which has yet to gain regulatory approval in Europe or the US.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement that the company remains fully committed to the acquisition and will appeal the decision, while Activision said it will “work aggressively” with Microsoft to reverse it.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told the team that it wasn’t “the news we wanted – but it’s far from the final word on this deal”.
Activision has also threatened to reassess its UK growth prospects. “Global innovators, large and small, will realize that – for all its rhetoric – the UK is clearly closed for business,” the company said in a separate statement.
Shares in Activision, which also makes “Overwatch” and “World of Warcraft”, fell 10% in US premarket trading to $78, advancing from Microsoft’s offering price of $95 a share.
Source: DW
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