UK’s Antitrust Regulator Threatens Innovation and M&A
The Competition and Markets Authority’s coming decision on Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard has the power to kill several deals and distort competition.
A $69 billion deal is at risk.
Photographer: Michael Ciaglo/Bloomberg
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority will soon tell Microsoft Corp. whether it can proceed with its $69 billion takeover of video game-maker Activision Blizzard Inc., maker of the Call of Duty franchise. The decision has the power to kill several deals and redraw the map of global merger regulation.
The CMA’s review is exploring what healthy competition should look like in the nascent market for cloud gaming. In other words, the decision will come down to the watchdog’s interpretation of how something that hasn’t happened might impact something that it thinks could happen someday.