UK competition regulator sets March deadline for Microsoft Activision Blizzard ruling
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has laid out a timeline for its second phase of investigations into Microsoft’s proposed $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, following concerns this deal could be deemed anti-competitive.
New documentation from the CMA states that its statutory deadline to publish the final report will be 1st March, 2023. As such, the final deadline for all parties’ responses regarding this investigation will be in February.
Between that time and now, the CMA will be conducting meetings with the main and third parties involved with this acquisition, issuing questionnaires and verifying the information provided.
Meanwhile, in January (and only if required) the CMA will notify all relevant parties of its provisional findings and possible remedies.
The CMA concluded its first phase of investigations into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard last month.
At this time, the regulator stated it believed this deal could have a large impact on the success of rival platforms, highlighting Activision’s Call of Duty series as being both “important and capable” of making “a material difference” to rival platforms.
