cma

Microsoft last week filed an appeal against the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision to block its $69 billion deal with Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. The company has now filed a skeleton argument with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) arguing the CMA analysis of the merger.Microsoft argues that the CMA's analysis makes “fundamental errors,” and it seeks to rely on four expert witnesses to push for a judicial review. According to a report in The Verge, Microsoft said that the CMA failed to…

Britain's competition watchdog on Friday said social media giant Meta had offered to limit its use of other businesses' advertising data for its Facebook Marketplace service to address the regulator's competition concerns.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was minded to accept the commitments, which include advertisers being able to opt out of allowing their data to be used to improve the Facebook Marketplace classified ads platform. CMA executive director of enforcement Michael Grenfell said: "Reducing…

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) delivered a shocker this week when it blocked Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard on Wednesday. While a lot of focus on Microsoft’s fight was centered around whether or not the acquisition would give Xbox consoles an unfair advantage over PlayStation consoles, what ultimately decided it was a much smaller market: cloud gaming. The idea of being able to stream the game you’re playing from the cloud has existed for well over a decade. Cloud…

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has reacted to the CMA's recent announcement that it wants to block the sale of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft. Speaking to Bloomberg TV, the controversial executive said the CMA reached an "irrational conclusion."Kotick said Activision Blizzard and Microsoft are now working together to prepare an appeal, and the companies believe they will prevail, the executive said. You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.Size:640 ×…

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan met with the heads of other antitrust enforcers, including Britain's, last week but no mergers were discussed, according to an FTC official who spoke amid allegations the FTC and UK are working together to block Microsoft's bid for Activision. On Wednesday, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard, saying it could hit competition in the nascent cloud gaming market. The FTC official, speaking on…

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has hit back at the CMA following the UK regulator's recent decision to try to block the Call of Duty company's sale to Microsoft for $68.7 billion. In an interview with CNBC, Kotick made a number of claims, one of which was in reference to a supposed meeting between the CMA and the FTC.Kotick said he heard about a meeting between the head of the CMA and Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission in the US. The FTC is suing Microsoft to try to stop the sale.…

Publisher will appeal UK’s decision on Activision purchase Microsoft’s ongoing plans to purchase publisher Activision Blizzard were dealt a hammer blow yesterday, as UK regulators voted to block the $68.7 billion deal from taking place — Regardless, it is predicted that Microsoft will continue in its efforts to complete the sale, appealing against any legal challenges. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) represents the first global body to officially vote down the proposed merger — Microsoft having already…

Microsoft's president Brad Smith said the UK regulator's decision to prevent its acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard "had shaken confidence" in Britain as a destination for tech businesses.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which operates independently from government, blocked the deal on Wednesday, saying it could hit competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.Microsoft hit back on Thursday, saying it was "probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain" and sent the wrong message…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The regulator said that “the merger could make Microsoft even stronger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in this growing market.” Microsoft has already responded by saying that it will appeal the decision, and now, the video game company has issued a statement.‘The UK is clearly closed for business’According to Activision Blizzard, the CMA’s report’s conclusions are a disservice to UK citizens. It…

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard because of its potential negative impact on cloud gaming.  Since January 2022, Xbox parent company Microsoft has been trying to acquire Activision Blizzard, the video game publisher behind franchises like Call of Duty, Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch. The companies have run into lots of regulatory hurdles, though, especially from the CMA and FTC, the latter of which is currently suing Microsoft.…