The European Commission (EC) has delayed its Microsoft Activision deal decision as the Xbox maker offered the regulator remedies in a bid to gain its approval. This development follows reports that EC would likely approve the deal without asking for significant remedies like its U.K. counterpart, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
EC will now make Microsoft Activision deal decision by end of May
As reported by Reuters and Bloomberg Law, Microsoft submitted a remedies package to the EC yesterday, March 16th. What commitments the company is legally prepared to make have not been made public, but the regulator will now need to “market test” the remedies and get feedback from Microsoft’s rivals and customers.
As a result, EC will now announce its decision on May 22nd.
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Per Bloomberg Law, it’s the CMA that Microsoft is more worried about. The U.K. regulator has had the harshest response to the deal and has made its criticisms and concerns public. With the CMA set to make its decision by April 26th, Microsoft’s focus will now shift to the U.K. in a desperate attempt to seek approval.
Microsoft has already acknowledged that there will be a slight delay in closing the Activision Blizzard deal if it ends up being approved.
