Microsoft has emphasized that it “really tried” to address the concerns of U.K. regulators before submitting a new bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, and now it is up to the regulators to determine if the path forward is clear.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice-chairman and president, told, “I think we need to let the regulators speak for themselves.
They have decisions that need to be made, especially in the U.K., but from my perspective, what we’ve really tried to do is take these concerns to heart.”
Last Tuesday, Microsoft presented a revised proposal to U.K. regulators regarding its takeover of the American game publisher Activision Blizzard, following the rejection of its initial bid.
Microsoft and Activision have reached a new, restructured agreement, which will now be reviewed by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), with a decision expected by October 18.
In April, Britain blocked Microsoft’s initial $69 billion offer to acquire Activision Blizzard due to anti-competitive concerns, particularly in the emerging cloud gaming market.
This acquisition could significantly enhance Microsoft’s mobile gaming presence, where it currently has limited influence.
Regulators are concerned that Microsoft might restrict access to Activision’s popular console and PC games, such as Call of Duty, by making them exclusive to Xbox and other Microsoft platforms.
In the U.S., regulators sought to block the acquisition in court, but a federal judge in San Francisco ruled in favor of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, allowing the deal to proceed in the U.S.
The European Union approved the acquisition in May after Microsoft proposed remedies to address competition concerns, including offering royalty-free licenses to cloud gaming platforms to stream Activision games purchased by consumers.
Smith commented on the regulatory concerns, stating, “We haven’t tried to dismiss them. We haven’t tried to downplay them. We haven’t tried to ignore them.
We’ve worked to address them, and by addressing them, we have put together a transaction that will advance competition, while also eliminating the anti-competitive concerns some people had.”
He added, “I think it will be up to the regulators, especially now in the U.K., to decide whether that path is clear,” during an interview at the Business 20 Summit in New Delhi.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority noted that under the new deal, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing or new Activision PC and console games for the next 15 years.
Instead, these rights will be acquired by French gaming publisher Ubisoft before Microsoft completes its acquisition of Activision.
Smith remarked, “That to me, is not just a recipe for this transaction.”
He further explained, “Whether we’re talking about software or hardware or pharmaceuticals, there are times when companies can come together to advance innovation, produce better products, and there may be steps that need to be taken simultaneously to address regulatory concerns.”
