According to reports, Microsoft anticipates that the UK regulator would oppose the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, although anticipating that the European Commission will be receptive to “possible remedies”.
According to Bloomberg, the FTC launched a lawsuit last week in an effort to delay the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard long enough for the EU to settle, even though the EU was virtually ready to do so. However, it appears that Microsoft didn’t need to do that because the UK’s regulator is apparently expecting to reject the deal.
The latest Activision Blizzard article in The New York Times claims that Microsoft’s legal team “expects the antitrust authority in Britain to oppose the purchase,” as per VGC. However, according to four unnamed sources who were questioned about the situation, Microsoft apparently thinks that the European Commission is amenable to “possible solutions”.
According to some of those four individuals, Microsoft apparently hoped to persuade the UK and the EU to “accept its compromises” and ultimately approve the deal.
According to four sources briefed on the situation who were not permitted to comment publicly, Microsoft’s legal team “expects the antitrust authority in Britain to oppose the merger, but it believes the European Commission is receptive to potential remedies.”
Accepting the proposal would appear to make it simpler to achieve a settlement with the FTC before the trial is scheduled to begin later this year in Britain and the European Union.
Although The New York Times cautions that any of the three agencies might also put pressure on others to oppose the merger, much as the FTC has been doing with the EU, if all parties involved accept the compromises, it won’t appear to be “weak on Big Tech.”
Microsoft previously asserted that the FTC was infringing the Constitution by trying to halt the merger, but it has now retracted those claims. Despite the fact that Microsoft has been battling the FTC for some time, it is allegedly not looking to settle the case.
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