The Reuters agency reports that the European Union would be ready to issue a warning against the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. The case becomes a bit more complex.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the largest in the history of technology, gaming, and Microsoft. It raises a lot of questions, especially since the US wants to block this acquisition.
Eyes now turn to the United Kingdom and the European Union, and it is the latter that has begun to express its opinion, as reported Reuters.
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According to the news agency, Microsoft should receive a warning from the European Commission in the near future. Once published, this warning will open the door to negotiations with Microsoft. So this is not a redemption lock request at this time. Microsoft may already have a discussion with the European Commission, but only when the warning is published will the actual negotiations begin.
The deadline for the final opinion of the European Commission is set for April 11, 2023. Microsoft therefore has until this date to convince the Commission to validate the acquisition.
What can Microsoft trade?
Microsoft does not hide its strategy on the subject.
We continue to work with the European Commission to address any market concerns. Our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will allow us to achieve that goal.
Therefore, the firm will have to negotiate with Europe for its takeover bid to be validated, possibly under the same conditions that it will have to negotiate in the United Kingdom. If you are successful, you will be very well equipped to move your case forward in the United States. It remains to be seen what concessions Microsoft and the European Commission could accept. The firm had already offered to commit to marketing the franchise. Obligations on competing platforms for 10 years.
Negotiations on these types of acquisitions can go a long way and one can imagine anything, the question is how far is Microsoft willing to go. One can, for example, imagine a scenario in which Microsoft would have to leave Activision and Obligations independent, while being allowed to swallow Blizzard and King. This is a simple hypothesis to illustrate what negotiations between a company and the competition authorities can give.
The future of Activision Blizzard’s proposed acquisition should become much clearer in April.
Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard goes far beyond the framework of video games and touches on both legal and political issues. Behind this acquisition is perhaps the balance of power…
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