Microsoft isn’t done with the UK’s CMA just yet. However, a new report suggests that the tech giant may pull out of the UK to circumvent the CMA’s decision to block the Activision deal should the meeting next week go south.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft could opt to pull Activision games from the UK market as a last resort to the disapproval of its proposed acquisition of the Call of Duty and Diablo 4 publisher. The verdict is still under appeal with a decision set to be announced late in July after additional evidence is heard in court. Microsoft may be looking at its options should it not get a favorable decision.
Microsoft president Brad Smith is reportedly personally visiting the UK and hopes to meet the UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to discuss potential remedies to the CMA ruling. Smith will be in the country to conduct a talk about Artificial Intelligence and strengthened regulations around the technology. He will also be holding a number of private functions in the country.
The meeting with the UK Chancellor is quite notable as Hunt previously said to the CMA to “understand their wider responsibilities” to the region’s economic growth. The comment was made after the CMA was attacked for denying the deal.
I think one of the reasons companies like Microsoft and Google want to invest in the UK is because we have independent regulators that are not controlled by politicians and therefore they can be confident there will be a level playing field,” Hunt said of the CMA’s decision to block the deal. “I would not want to undermine that at all, but I do think it’s important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth.”
Interestingly, Hunt does not have the power to overturn the CMA’s decision on the proposed merger. The anti-trust regulator is an independent agency and the UK Chancellor can only exert some level of influence due to his position. Smith is reportedly meeting with Hunt to discuss what the company can do to pass government scrutiny.
Smith will be meeting with Microsoft’s legal team prior to his discussion with Chancellor Hunt. Microsoft’s president hopes to strategize its approach to counter the CMA’s decision. This includes the extreme option of withdrawing Activision Blizzard products from the UK market.
Forbes reports that Activision Blizzard’s stock has plummeted as a result of its legal issues in the US and UK. Shares are now valued at $80 per unit while Microsoft agreed to buy it for $95 per share.
