Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to reports, the competition and market authority (CMA), the UK's antitrust regulator, said today that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard (Activision Blizzard) could significantly weaken competition in the market.

"unless both parties provide an acceptable commitment to resolve these competition issues, the transaction will be further investigated," CMA said in a statement. CMA believes the deal could significantly weaken competition in video game consoles, game subscription services and cloud gaming services.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have yet to comment. According to CMA, the two companies must make a commitment by September 8.

In January, Microsoft announced that it would buy Activision Blizzard, a developer of games and interactive entertainment content, for $95 a share in a deal worth about $69 billion. When the deal is completed, Microsoft will become the third highest revenue gaming company in the world, after Tencent and Sony.

In July, the British CMA announced that it had launched a "preliminary" antitrust investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. CMA said it would assess whether the deal would damage market competition, lead to higher prices or reduced consumer choice.

At the time, CMA expected the preliminary investigation to be completed by September 1 this year, before deciding whether to conduct a further investigation. Today, CMA released its preliminary findings, saying the deal hindered market competition.

CMA has long advocated a strong way to review acquisitions, especially between large technology companies. At the end of November last year, CMA rejected Meta's acquisition of Giphy, saying it was a hindrance to market competition.

In addition to CMA in the UK, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has also been questioned and investigated by other regulators around the world, including the United States, New Zealand and Brazil. So far, only Saudi Arabia has announced approval of the deal.

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