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The
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set out on Friday
Microsoft's arguments for the reconsideration, as the U.S.
battles to win UK approval to buy "Call of Duty" maker
Activision.
Having initially blocked the $69 billion deal in April over
concerns about its impact on competition in the cloud gaming
market, the CMA has since reopened the file, after it was left
increasingly isolated amongst world regulators in its
opposition.
The CMA said it is likely to be able to reach a new provisional
view on the restructured deal in the week beginning Aug. 7.
Explaining why the deal should now be given the green light,
Microsoft argued that the binding commitments accepted by the
European Union shortly after Britain had blocked the deal
changed matters, court documents published showed.
The software company gave legally-binding commitments to
European authorities that Activision games can be streamed for a
decade after the merger, and has entered into agreements with
NVIDIA, Boosteroid and Ubitus.
As part of that a monitoring and enforcement regime will be
established, which Microsoft said should ease some of the CMA's
concerns.
Microsoft also argued that the terms of the CMA’s proposed block
reached further than necessary to tackle its cloud gaming
concerns, for example in covering Activision Blizzard’s King
unit, which makes mobile device games like Candy Crush Saga.
The CMA said it understood that Microsoft considered the recent
licensing deal it agreed with Sony constituted a further
material change of circumstance or special reason.
For its part, the CMA dismissed as "irrelevant and immaterial"
to its decision to look again at the deal the failure by U.S.
authorities to get it blocked in the courts there.
Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal provisionally approved the
adjournment on Monday subject to further submissions from the
parties. It formally granted it on Friday.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Paul Sandle and Sam Tobin; Editing by
Alistair Smout and Louise Heavens)
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