: Microsoft gets to appeal U.K. rejection of Activision deal at end of July

Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI towards the end of July will get to appeal the decision by U.K. antitrust regulators to block the tech giant’s $69 billion acquisition of the videogame publisher. Microsoft confirmed to MarketWatch earlier reports that the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has tentatively scheduled appeal hearings during the weeks of July 24 and July 31. “The CMA’s decision is flawed for multiple reasons, including its overestimation of the role of cloud streaming in the gaming market and our position in it, as well as its unwillingness to consider solutions that received overwhelming industry and public support,” a Microsoft spokesperson told MarketWatch in an emailed statement. Mid-month, EU regulators approved the deal, after U.K. regulators said in April they would prohibit the deal on anticompetitive concerns. The CMA has argued that the acquisition would give Microsoft an unfair advantage over competitors with its control of such hit franchises as “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch.”

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