EU antitrust commission to object Microsoft's acquisition of Activision
Last January Microsoft offered to buy Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal, but that's still facing various issues and it's not finalized. The latest obstacle comes from the EU commissions, which isn't convinced the acquisition will do the market any good.
According to people familiar with the matter, EU's antitrust commission has serious concerns and is readying a statement of objections against the deal. The commission has set April 11 as the final deadline for its final decision on the deal.
Here's what Microsoft had to say about this:
We continue working with the European Commission to address any marketplace concerns. Our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will further that goal.
Rumors suggest that Microsoft and EU's antitrust watchdog are having informal talks about the deal and Microsoft is trying to offer some guarantees in order to speed up the acquisition process, but the EU commission is insisting on sending its so-called charge sheet first.
In addition, the US Federal Trade Commission is going to court to block the deal, UK regulators are voicing their concerns and Sony is also wary of the deal. The Japanese company fears that Call of Duty, among other games, will be made exclusive to Xbox and PlayStation users won't have access to them anymore.