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EpicRandy on 14 March 2023
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Ryuu96 said:
Machiavellian said:

It really does not matter if the CMA block the deal.  MS would just create a subsidirary of Activision/Blizz to operate in UK.  Basically that corp will just operate just like ABK/Blizz does today.  An analysis talked about this whole thing so really the CMA pose absolutly no obsticle to the deal going through.  This whole drama is pretty much dead.  The EU was the biggest hurtle and from all reports, that is a done deal.  THe US FTC is a joke and has no teeth.  If everything continue to move as it does now, MS is pretty much done with this drama.

It absolutely does matter if CMA blocks the deal, Lol.

If they block the deal then it's either...

  • Appeal to CAT; Decision thrown back to CMA.
  • Abandon the merger.
  • Microsoft pulls out of UK and/or faces massive fines.

[...]

I also did entertain the idea MS could just pull out of the UK market upon a negative decision as this deal amount to many times the revenue from UK Xbox gets. However since MS his making the deal and not Xbox the move would be prohibitively drastic. 

There's also another avenue I believe MS can try which is challenging the UK government constitutionally. MS could challenge the CMA mandate in itself rather than the decision it renders. It could try to argue that the procedure and non-oversight of the body have allowed them to make decision that disregard the actual legality of a proposed merger, and base said decision on along partisan line or personal view which also leave the body vulnerable to lobbying. If MS were to take this route the deal would likely be already dead though but could ask compensation to the UK government for any arm done to MS which would be a staggering  amount here and they would likely be join in their fight by other entity like Meta.