Xbox boss Phil Spencer he announced on Twitter that Microsoft has reached an intended binding agreement with Sony to guarantee that Call of Duty will continue to run on PlayStation after Blizzard’s acquisition of Activison. According to him, Microsoft is looking forward to a future in which players around the world will have a wider choice. It is almost certainly a similar contract that the company has previously concluded with other game companies in an attempt to soften the regulatory authorities. It is this agreement that Sony has so far rejected, claiming that it is not a sufficient guarantee.
We don’t know any other details, we don’t even know for how long Microsoft commits to this step (in other cases it was for 10 years), but it is undoubtedly the last harbinger of the approaching closing of the historic deal. It also acts as a signal that Sony is already counting on the fact that the deal will eventually be completed. Microsoft President Brad Smith on Twitter he wrote, that from day one of the acquisition they wanted to address the concerns of market regulators, platforms, developers and customers alike. Even after this deal closes, they’ll want to make sure Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more customers than ever before.
Before the weekend, the US Federal Trade Commission failed to delay the completion of the acquisition with another preliminary injunction, which the local court refused to issue. The Competition Authority in Great Britain will apparently not formally approve the merger of the companies these days and will not grant the wish in time. It is probably not enough to reach the desired out-of-court agreement before the deadline (see below) and, on the contrary, the CMA wants to start a new full-fledged investigation, which can run until August 29.
It is possible, however, that Microsoft plans to complete the deal without the consent of the British authorities, even with regard to the withdrawal of Activison Blizzard from the American stock exchange. The $69 billion deal must be closed before the deadline for the merger, which was set for July 18, expires. If the acquisition was not completed, Microsoft is threatened with having to pay a penalty of $3 billion to Activision. The agreement with Activision Blizzard obliges him to do so.
Of course, I cannot say what it would mean not to wait for the verdict of the British Competition Authority. But some lawyers argue that the MS can formally leave the local market, move to another European country and thereby escape the CMA’s jurisdiction. The consequences are undoubtedly more complicated.
— Jiří Bigas (@mrspockcz) July 16, 2023
2023-07-16 15:05:07
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