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[Ryuu96]

chakkra said:

Ryuu96 said:

They technically can and they've already said so to Microsoft that they want the concessions to apply worldwide. They will simply argue that the concessions need to be worldwide because only applying the concessions to UK won't protect competition elsewhere which in turn WILL have an effect on UK markets too.

CMA has too much power.

The best chance Microsoft has, and probably only chance, is it CAT determines that Cloud Gaming isn't its own market.

If that happens then yeah it will be hard for CMA. They're clearly set on blocking the deal though, I've no doubt that they've wanted it blocked since it was announced and just tried to find an argument to fit it.

My understanding is that once it's sent back to CMA, the Phase 2 process can begin again and a different group inside of the CMA looks at the deal, new evidence can be submitted and new demands can be issued, the new group can come to different interpretations or the same one but it won't be as long as the first time since a lot of evidence is already there.

If that was the case then all of the other regulators of the world would have just dropped the case on the spot, because now they would all just be wasting their time.
And how would that even work? How would an institution from a single country be able to enforce their will, if all the other institutions from around the globe get to a different resolution?

Those regulators still come to their own conclusions.

It's perfectly legal for CMA to demand concessions be applied worldwide, very unlikely CAT will care about that, I don't believe it breaks procedure, laws and wouldn't fit in with the bar of irrationality. CMA already made their positions clear weeks-months ago that they want the concessions to apply worldwide. I'd guess they will argue that local concessions aren't strong enough to protect the UK market (which is filled with global companies) so the concessions have to be applied worldwide.

They've also framed themselves recently as a global regulator: UK’s Competition Watchdog Aims for Leading Global Role

Microsoft needs CMA's permission to operate in UK and there's no way around them, so CMA can demand Global Concessions, even if other Regulators approve, those Regulators can't exactly force CMA not to do it and can't punish them for doing it, they may be annoyed but I doubt it. It's ballsy to be the only regulator against something but it ain't like it hasn't happened in the past. Recent example would be UK forcing Meta to sell Giphy.

No doubt, it's frustrating but there's really nothing illegal about them demanding it.

Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 10 May 2023