Related Articles
In a recent interview, chief executive at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority Sarah Cardell shared that the organisation is waiting on Microsoft’s proposals for how it will address concerns regarding its Activision Blizzard purchase.
Speaking to Sky News predominantly on the topic of food inflation in the UK, Cardell was also asked about the current state of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Earlier this year, the CMA blocked the deal over concerns regarding cloud gaming, with Microsoft later filing an appeal over the group’s decision. According to Cardell, the CMA is still yet to receive word on how Microsoft plans to address the concerns raised, saying, “We’re waiting for those proposals to come to us. We’ve agreed with Microsoft [to] a stay on the litigation, which means that we can focus on understanding whether it is possible for them to provide a restructure that addresses our concern. The ball is very much in their court at the moment.”
When asked about whether the CMA has compromised with Microsoft, with some accusing the group as caving into pressure from the tech company, Cardell responded, “We certainly haven’t compromised. Our decision to prohibit the deal stands, we understand from Microsoft that they would like to put forward proposals to us to restructure the deal, to potentially renotifiying that deal to address our competition concerns.
“If they do that, we will consider those restructured proposals carefully. But anything that they put forward to us will need to fully and comprehensively resolve our concerns. Our position on that hasn’t changed.”
Last week, Microsoft won its court case against the US’ Federal Trade Commission, marking another win for the company that will help seal its acquisition. The FTC’s appeal over the decision was also denied, and importantly, Microsoft and Sony finally reached a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, leaving the CMA as the last major hurdle for Microsoft to clear.
