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The blocking of the purchase of Activision Blizzard did not sit well within the leadership of Microsoft, which since it learned the news assured that this decision could lead them to make decisions that had not been considered until then. One of the great reactions that has been rumored since the no of the CMA is that those of Redmond decide to leave the UK as far as the Activision market is concerned.
The decision of the CMA, compared to the rest of the regulators that have already given the green light to the operation, is considered by Microsoft as an unprecedented grievance, especially considering that its European counterpart, the Commission of the European Union, gave the yes to purchase, with the application of a number of concessions. This has caused, according to information from BloombergBrad Smith will meet UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next week.
The purchase of Activision Blizzard under debate between Brad Smith and Jeremy Hunt
According to the British media, Smith will meet with Hunt to express his discomfort over the veto that the CMA applied on April 26 to the purchase of Activision Blizzard. In addition, the president of Microsoft intends to expose the chancellor of the United Kingdom the benefits that could be for the players if the purchase were to take placeemphasizing that there is no return to the current situation, in which there really is a big difference between the leaders of the sector and the rest.
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It must be remembered that Hunt had previously positioned himself on the side of Microsoft, when criticizing the CMA a few weeks ago, assuring that it seems that “They don’t understand their responsibilities”. Of course, despite these statements, Bloomberg sources assure that Smith’s wordsin which he assured that the European Union was a better place to do business, did not sit well with the British Chancellor.
It must be remembered that Hunt has no direct impact on the outcome of the decision taken by the British CAT, whose verdict will arrive this summer. Even so, as we have previously mentioned, in the event that the purchase of Activision Blizzard is not approved in this appeal process, Microsoft is already considering the most drastic decision, as is leave the UK in everything related to the company they intend to acquire. Or what is the same, that it will leave the entire United Kingdom without games like Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch and other company titles.