Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal likely to face fresh UK probe

Britain’s antitrust watchdog said that a new merger investigation into Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal may be needed if the duo restructure their deal in a bid to reverse a UK veto.  After a US court approved the largest ever gaming deal, all parties decided to put on hold an appeal trial against the CMA’s decision to block it.

That pause gives the firms a chance to suggest potential fixes aimed at easing UK concerns that the takeover would stymie competition. “Merging parties don’t have the opportunity to put forward new remedies once a final report has been issued, they can choose to restructure a deal, which can lead to a new merger investigation,” a spokesperson from the Competition and Markets Authority said Wednesday. 
 

Sending the deal back to first base in the UK would mean starting a new “phase 1” CMA probe. This would look at whether a deal could cause potential competition issues and structural remedies are often considered at this stage.