Will it prevail? Microsoft has already made its appeal to the CMA to close the purchase of Activision

The novel about the purchase of Activision Blizzard continues and has a new chapter. Microsoft has just filed its appeal to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which blocked the acquisition sharply due to the cloud gaming market.

Now, Microsoft will try to appeal this decision to be able to close the purchase without any sanctions or setbacks. The case is now in the hands of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), who will decide if the CMA should re-analyze the situation to reach a new verdict.

MICROSOFT CONTINUES ITS BATTLE AGAINST THE CMA

Thanks to Katharine Gemmel, a Bloomberg journalist, we know that Microsoft has formally submitted its appeal to the CAT. In this way, they started the process to confront the CMA's decision and change their mind.

Once the court gives its opinion, it is very likely that the case will return to the CMA. The organization will be forced to review the situation again to formulate new conclusions regarding it. The issue is that the CMA has emphasized that it will not change its mind because it believes that Microsoft will gain too much power with the purchase, especially in the field of cloud gaming.

The UK regulator is under a lot of pressure since recently the European Commission and China gave the green light to the agreement. With this, 36 countries have approved the acquisition with or without conditions for Microsoft.

CAN MICROSOFT PREVAIL OVER THE CMA?

According to Florian Mueller, founder of FOSS Patents, there is a possibility that the CAT finds the CMA's arguments irrational, which would give Microsoft an advantage and put an "end to the game."

On the other hand, he emphasized that the UK regulator is not immune to appeals. Thus, there is a possibility that Microsoft will win against the CMA, and the agreement will have no more barriers than the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed the company has formally filed its appeal against the UK antitrust watchdog’s decision to block its $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal. On Terminal.

— Katharine Gemmell (@kathgemm) May 24, 2023