Sources say Microsoft faces antitrust warnings from the European Union because of its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
CTOnews.com, January 16 (Reuters)-Microsoft may receive an antitrust warning from the European Union for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the developer of call of Duty, which could pose another challenge to completing the deal, Reuters reported.
The European Commission is preparing an indictment, known as an objection statement, listing its concerns about the deal, which will be sent to Microsoft in the coming weeks, according to sources.
The European Union's antitrust watchdog, which declined to comment, set April 11 as the deadline to make a decision on the deal.
"We are continuing to work with the European Commission to solve any market problems," Microsoft said. "our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will further advance that goal."
Microsoft announced the acquisition in January last year, but regulators in the US and UK have expressed concern and the FTC has taken it to court to block the deal.
Other sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Microsoft was expected to provide remedies to EU regulators in an attempt to avoid allegation statements and shorten regulatory procedures.
However, EU competition enforcers are not expected to be open to remedies without issuing charges, although informal discussions on concessions are under way, these people said.
Microsoft last month struck a 10-year deal with Nintendo to guarantee call of Duty on Nintendo consoles and said it was open to a similar deal with Sony, which is critical of the acquisition.
CTOnews.com learned that the deal had been given the green light unconditionally in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Serbia.