LONDON – Microsoft (MSFT.O) has criticized Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for blocking its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), the maker of “Call of Duty,” labeling the regulator as a global “outlier.”
In April, the CMA vetoed the deal, suggesting that it could harm competition in the emerging cloud gaming market. Microsoft is now requesting an appeal, with Activision seeking to intervene. The appeal is set to be heard in July, while the CMA’s lawyers have argued for a hearing in September at the earliest.
During a hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in London, Microsoft’s lawyer, Daniel Beard, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “If this process does not move forward quickly, it jeopardizes this merger being completed,” he stated.
Microsoft is contesting the CMA’s decision, asserting that the regulator was mistaken in concluding that the acquisition would significantly reduce competition in the UK’s cloud gaming market. Beard highlighted that 10 other regulators, including the European Union’s competition authority, have already approved the merger.
“The CMA is the outlier here in its position,” Beard said. “It creates the uncertainty that risks derailing this deal, and it is for that reason that speed is of the essence.”
He further added, “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 has also lodged an appeal against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block the deal, claiming that it would suppress competition.
