Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Responds to UK Competition Authority’s Block of Microsoft Deal
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick assures that things will not end here and is fully confident in the appeal that will be presented after the UK Competition Authority (CMA) blocked the sale of his company to Microsoft.
Kotick says they were already preparing the appeal and are confident, as “the facts are on our side.” The controversial CEO comments that “this was not the news we wanted, but it is far from the last word on this deal.”
“Alongside Microsoft, we can and will challenge this decision, and we have already started work to appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK. We are confident in our case because the facts are on our side: this deal is good for competition.”
Kotick ensures that the UK will benefit from the approval of the deal and that the merger of the companies will help in their hopes of increasing their leadership in the world of technology. Blocking the deal is detrimental to investment, competition, and job creation, Kotick assures.
Reasons for the Block
The CMA blocked the deal not because of Call of Duty, which has been widely discussed, but rather due to technologies and cloud services, where it believes Microsoft already enjoys a significant advantage over potential interested parties in this growing segment.
