© Reuters. Microsoft (MSFT.US), Activision Blizzard (ATVI.US) meet U.K. regulators to secure $69 billion merger
Zhitong Finance APP has learned that, according to people familiar with the matter, Microsoft (MSFT.US) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI.US) met with the British antitrust regulator this week to discuss remedies for the two companies’ $69 billion merger transaction. Regulators around the world are now stepping up scrutiny of the controversial deal.
Lawyers for Microsoft attended a closed hearing in London on Monday with Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to discuss the regulator’s interim findings and assess the viability of proposed remedies, people familiar with the matter said.
On February 8, the CMA provisionally ruled that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would lead to a “substantial reduction in competition” in console and cloud gaming services in the UK. It proposed a number of remedies, including spinning off the top-selling Call of Duty game or blocking the deal entirely. The CMA said it would consider other remedies to protect rivals’ access to the hit shooter.
Ahead of the London meeting, executives and lawyers from Microsoft and Activision held a closed-door meeting with EU regulators in Brussels last week to try to defend the deal. Microsoft president Brad Smith made it clear that a merger deal “is not feasible or realistic” without Call of Duty included.
Microsoft has also offered to pay third-party monitors to monitor their compliance, the people said, a move aimed at relieving the CMA of having to dedicate resources to making sure the tech giant lives up to its commitments. The UK regulator has left the door open to behavioral remedies in its interim review.
Activision Blizzard met separately with the CMA on Wednesday to discuss the proposals. Sony (SONY.US), which opposes the deal, will attend a hearing scheduled for next week, people familiar with the matter said.
Microsoft last week announced a deal with Nintendo (NTDOY.US) and Nvidia (NVDA.US) to share Call of Duty on their platforms, giving 150 million people access to the game if the deal to buy Activision Blizzard is approved. game.
The CMA will announce its final decision on the merger on April 26.
Following a closed-door meeting, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard plan to submit a revised proposal to EU authorities this week, the people said. The European Commission has extended the review decision deadline to April 25.
The parties to the deal were locked in a lengthy legal tug-of-war after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to kill the deal.
