2023-04-27 09:38:09
London sees itself as a post-Brexit champion of tech but “the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom”, tackled the president of Microsoft Brad Smith on Thursday in an interview with the BBC, at the day following a setback on the merger with Activision.
The British competition authority (CMA) on Wednesday jeopardized the mega-merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard by announcing its decision to block the operation – the two companies announced to appeal in the process.
The CMA’s decision was “the darkest day in (Microsoft’s) four decades in Britain,” Mr Smith told the British broadcaster, “but more than that, unfortunately, I think it’s bad” for the country, he assured.
“It shakes our confidence more than ever in the future opportunities to develop a technology company in Britain,” he continued, saying that London “must carefully consider the role of the CMA”.
The CMA said it feared “reduced innovation and less choice for British gamers” in the growing market for dematerialized games (“cloud gaming”), which offer users the possibility of streaming games, especially on their mobile phones. .
“We want to create an environment in which a multitude of different companies can compete effectively, grow and innovate,” defended Thursday, also on the BBC, the director general of the CMA Sarah Cardell.
Concerns over the merger aren’t limited to the UK: the EU has also launched an investigation into whether it will make Activision games exclusive to Xbox. The European Commission must decide by May 22.
The operation also raises fears across the Atlantic, where the US competition authority (FTC) launched legal proceedings in December to block it.
The UK market is smaller than the US or EU market, but if the London blockade is upheld on appeal, it might force Microsoft to back out of the deal.
The CMA had already won its case last year, following an appeal procedure, to force Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to sell the start-up of animated graphics Giphy.
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