United Kingdom: Filed appeal in case 1590/4/12/23 against CMA ruling blocking Microsoft/Activision merger
Description
Filed appeal in case 1590/4/12/23 against CMA ruling blocking Microsoft/Activision merger
On 24 May 2023, Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) submitted an application for review to the Competition Appeal Tribunal under section 120 of the Enterprise Act 2002. The application challenges the decisions of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding the anticipated merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Inc. The CMA concluded that the merger would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK market for cloud gaming services. Microsoft disputes this conclusion and presents five grounds for challenging the decisions, including errors in market definition, failure to consider long-term commercial agreements, irrational findings, and flawed assessments of Microsoft's ability and incentive to foreclose rival services. Microsoft seeks annulment of the Decision, costs of the application, and any other relief deemed appropriate by the Tribunal.
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