Microsoft will formally appeal Wednesday against a decision by U.K. regulators to block its $75 billion takeover of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard.
Sky News understands the tech giant is due to lodge a complaint with the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) within hours, triggering the next stage of its fight to secure one of the world’s biggest takeover deals in years.
Microsoft’s decision Challenging Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) rulings A deal for Activision Blizzard has been widely expected.
buy Already approved in other major jurisdictions, including the EU and Chinawhile the CMA’s decision sparked a strong reaction from executives of the two companies.
Brad Smith, vice-chairman and president of Microsoft, said the CMA’s ruling had “handicapped technology investment and innovation in the UK”.
“We are particularly disappointed that, after lengthy deliberation, this decision appears to reflect a misunderstanding of how this market and related cloud technologies actually work.”
MicrosoftThe company declined further comment on Wednesday afternoon, and Activision is expected to issue a further statement after it formally files its appeal.
Both sides have hired legal heavyweights to defend them.
The EC’s ruling on the takeover will require Microsoft to license the popular Activision Blizzard game to a competing cloud gaming service, a decision that will apply globally.
Resolution overseen by the CAT can take several months.