UK Competition and Markets Authority, CMA in his initials in English he expressed concern over the fact that Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard acquisition could ‘hurt rivals’.
The potential harm to competitors is one of the clearest conclusions reached by the CMA after completing Phase 1 of its investigation into the operation that would transform Activision-Blizzard into a subsidiary of Microsoft. In a document published by the Antimonopoly Office, you can read, for example, the following:
“An Activision-Blizzard acquisition would significantly expand Microsoft’s proprietary game library, adding some of the world’s best-selling and top-selling franchises, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. The CMA is concerned that full control of this powerful catalog, especially given Microsoft’s already strong position in games consoles, operating systems and cloud infrastructure, could lead to Microsoft harming consumers by affecting Sony’s competitiveness.Microsoft’s closest gaming rival, as well as other existing rivals and potential new entrants who could spur healthy competition through innovative multi-game subscription and cloud gaming services.”
“CMA believes that the merger could allow Microsoft to create Activision-Blizzard content, including Call of Duty, exclusive to Xbox or Game Pass, or reduce your rivals’ access to Activision-Blizzard content, such as delaying releases or imposing license price increases.”
In short, it seems that Microsoft’s purchase of Activision-Blizzard, at least for now, does not seem to please the CMA too much, it can even be inferred that the antitrust body sees that the operation could be aimed at trying to harm the competition that, at least from Sony, she responded by making three quarters the same.
The two companies now have until September 8 to address the concerns raised by the CMA, which concluded in Phase 1 of its investigation that the merger process may result in a “substantial lessening of competition in one or more UK markets”. If the CMA does not respond, it will proceed with a more in-depth Phase 2 investigation to “reach a decision that is consistent with the interests of UK players and companies”.
Activision-Blizzard has come out on top saying what the CMA is doing is a normal part of the process, but given what the Phase 1 findings show, companies will have to go to great lengths to get the regulator to change its mind , which on the other hand is not impossible.
At this point, it is worth recalling that it was the CMA itself that began to question NVIDIA’s acquisition of ARM. Ten months after the reservations presented by the British authority, the green giant withdrew from the operation, although during this time an investigation by the European Union and a lawsuit by the US FTC were added to block the purchase process.
We’ll see how Microsoft’s purchase of Activision-Blizzard ends up, but it’s clear that the process didn’t start off on the right foot in front of the British antitrust body.
