[Saka]

Yesterday, 18.7 marked the deadline until which Microsoft was required to acquire Activision Blizzard, else they would have had to pay a hefty fine to Activision. Seems like the deal was renegotiated due to the difficulty with courts stalling the matter. A new deadline has been announced on Twitter by Phil Spencer, an Xbox boss.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended the merger agreement deadline to 10/18. We're optimistic about getting this done, and excited about bringing more games to more players everywhere.

Microsoft has managed to defend the buyout of Activision Blizzard in the US. The recent decision of the judges dismissed the accusations from US Federal Trade Commission about Microsoft building a monopolistic market. The case was dismissed a week ago. Currently there is still the UK Competition and Markets Authority being a roadblock with deadlines being extended until late August.

Let's see whether UK will go against the flow or decide to follow the decisions of the EU and the US.

[GoLLuM13]

Nice post thank you, this story about Activision Blizzard King is like a long TV Show that doesn't want to come to an end 😂

[Saka]

@GoLLuM13 Like a Brazilian telenovela. 😂

[GoLLuM13]

@Saka Exactly, I wrote soap opera, that's not far 🤣🤣🤣

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka In the news I read they claim that Microsoft may well go forward with the deal even without the UK Competition and Markets Authority if they can't reach common ground, and the contingency plan then would be to remove Activision Blizzard products from the UK market for some time. Not sure how achievable that is practically, but shows how determined they are to go forward with this deal.

@GoLLuM13 it really does look like drama. I think that if we had a series of anthropomorphic representations of big corporations, that may be an enjoyable watch (a bit like Hetalia was for countries). Reminds me of "Joan Is Awful", the first episode of the latest Black Mirror season.

I can imagine Microsoft and Disney sitting in a bar with Microsoft having a celebratory drink saying something like

"I managed to convince her father US Federal Trade Commission already. No wonder, he is American and more practical. Her mother, UK Competition and Markets Authority, on the other hand, is more of a traditionalist, so it will take some work still, but I am sure I can convince her of my good intentions! And then, me and my darling Activision Blizzard will finally be able to get married! And if mother is not on board, then damn it all, we'll elope!"

With Disney getting sad and drunk and replying

"Well good for you with your perfect life and all! And meanwhile, I had to sell a third of my assets to keep my son Disney+ and stepdaughter Hulu out of debt, those brats cost me 800 million! And Hulu is not officially my stepdaughter yet, even! If it goes like this, I'll even have to crawl to that know-it-all Apple and beg her to marry me just to stay afloat... And not only is she half a century younger than me, but she also makes more money with her fruit gadgets than I do with my rodent cartoons, so we both know who will be wearing pants in that relationship... But she is keen on helping to get my other son ESPN through college, so, I don't know..."

Something like that. Though I do not have the artistic skill to draw it.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch As far as I have read, going without the CMA approval would mean having to remove Microsoft's products from the market entirely, not just Activision Blizzard. UK is still a rather large market and that would be a big loss.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka But that would work both ways, though. Microsoft has deep pockets and maybe can afford to freeze sales in the UK for some time and handle the loss, big though it would be. Meanwhile, the British public and businesses may not appreciate being deprived of Microsoft products, which may make UK Competition and Markets Authority think twice before enforcing such a drastic measure.

But as you and @GoLLuM13 said, this is a soap opera at this point...

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch To me as an observer from within the EU, the quick blockage of the merger deal seemed like a desperate attempt of improving the significance of post-Brexit UK and going against the flow that EU was following.

Of course, it's in reality a lot more complicated than thins, but a lot of things in the post-Brexit UK happened partly out of spite.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Sorry, just to clarify, do you mean "post-Brexit UK"?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Absolutely. Sleep deprivation doesn't help with typing. 😅