Microsoft Activision acquisition continues, UK CMA extends reporting deadline

CTOnews.com January 9 news, Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is facing strict scrutiny by major regulators. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also deepened its investigation into potential anti-competitive behaviour and extended its investigation after US regulators asked the court to terminate the deal.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (Competition & Markets Authority) has extended the deadline for final reporting on acquisitions from March 1 to April 26, 2023. This means that we may have to wait a few more months to see whether Microsoft's deal can pass the review.

It noted that the extension was mainly due to the scope and complexity of the investigation, so more time was needed to assess "substantial evidence and material submitted by key and third parties".

CTOnews.com has reported that CMA reported last month that after inviting public comments, the regulator received 2100 emails, of which about 3/4 were in favor of the deal and 1/4 opposed the deal.

Since the $68.7 billion deal was announced, various regulators, including CMA itself and the FTC FTC, have intervened in various ways, arguing that the deal could hinder normal market competition, even though Microsoft is not a leader in the gaming industry.

CMA concluded the first phase of its investigation in September and chose to extend the process to the second in-depth stage because "this acquisition could lead to a significant reduction in competition in one or more markets in the UK."

Of course, this extension does not mean that CMA will release its final report on April 26, and they also stressed that their goal is to "complete the investigation as soon as possible and by that date."