It looked like a problem for Microsoft last fall when the European Union launched a probe into its acquisition of Activision, but now it looks like Microsoft is winning. Three of his people familiar with the European Commission’s opinion on the matter told Reuters that he agreed to make a few more concessions, with Microsoft saying on his April 25 He said he had a good chance of winning trust approval.
According to Reuters, the European Commission is not expected to ask Microsoft to sell large portions of Activision, including separating its Call of Duty business, in order to obtain approval. Instead, a long-term licensing deal for the lucrative games Microsoft offered its rivals would suffice, agreeing to “other behavioral remedies to allay the concerns of non-Sony parties.” In addition, an insider told Reuters.
Microsoft declined Ars’ request for comment, but the company told Reuters it was “committed to providing effective and easily implementable solutions to address the Commission’s concerns.” Microsoft has so far opposed bailout proposals that would force the combined company to sell the Call of Duty franchise.
Earlier this month, the UK indicated that antitrust approval of the acquisition could depend on such a sale. An Activision spokesperson told Ars at the time that it wanted to help the UK government “get a better understanding of the industry” in order to avoid selling Call of Duty and splitting other parts of Activision’s business.
Microsoft has a big chance to shake the UK this week after it attended a closed-door hearing with the UK’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to discuss ‘feasible remedies’, Bloomberg said. reported. Sources say Microsoft has offered to pay third-party monitors to monitor the company’s compliance with the UK’s proposed behavioral remedial measures for trade approvals. The CMA expects him to make a decision on April 26th.
The hearing follows a closed-door meeting with the EU, where Microsoft president Brad Smith said a merger would not be “feasible or practical” if the acquisition did not include Call of Duty. Bloomberg reports that it appears to have been successful.
If the European Commission approves the contract based primarily on Microsoft’s plans to provide competitors with long-term license agreements, the Commission’s decision will have implications for other government agencies reviewing the contract. may give.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters, “Our commitment to granting Sony, Steam, NVIDIA and others 100% equal access to Call of Duty over the long term will benefit gamers and developers from the deal. and promote competition in the market,” he said.
The UK isn’t the only country still unconvinced by Microsoft’s proposed solution that licensing agreements would address anti-competitive concerns. When the U.S. Federal Trade Commission made a move to block the deal last December, FTC’s Competition Director Holly Bedova said he always wanted Microsoft to share its most profitable titles with rivals. I warned you that it is not always reliable. “Microsoft has already demonstrated that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” Vedova wrote in his FTC complaint.
An Activision spokesperson told Ars that the merger will allow the company to continue making multi-platform games that can compete in an “industry dominated by growing competitors.” An Activision spokesperson said the solution Microsoft presented was “legally binding, and beyond that, our dedicated community of players will hold Microsoft accountable for keeping its promises.” .
The FTC plans to review the transaction at an evidence hearing on August 2nd.
