CMA Says Negotiations with Microsoft Are “at an Early Stage”

Microsoft’s ongoing legal proceedings against the FTC came to an end recently with the latter being denied an injunction against the former’s proposed deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Shortly afterward, Microsoft confirmed that it had also agreed with the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to pause litigation and resume negotiations regarding the deal.

Now, in a statement to The Verge, the CMA media officer Billy Proudlock has stated that the aforementioned negotiations with Microsoft are still “at an early stage”. In fact, Proudlock says the CMA stands by its previous decision to block Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and that should the company choose to propose a restructured deal during its negotiations with the CMA, it could still “lead to a new merger investigation.”

“Whilst merging parties don’t have the opportunity to put forward new remedies once a final report has been issued, they can choose to restructure a deal, which can lead to a new merger investigation. Microsoft and Activision have indicated that they are considering how the transaction might be modified, and the CMA is prepared to engage with them on this basis. These discussions remain at an early stage and the nature and timing of next steps will be determined in due course. While both parties have requested a pause in Microsoft’s appeal to allow these discussions to take place, the CMA decision set out in its final report still stands.”

Microsoft is, of course, working to close to deal with Activision Blizzard before its deadline of July 18, which means negotiations with the CMA could still prove to be a roadblock for the company. Interestingly, previous reports have claimed that Microsoft has also considered withdrawing Activision Blizzard from the UK entirely in order to work around the CMA’s block.

Meanwhile, the FTC is also reportedly “leaning toward” appealing against the recent ruling to deny it an injunction againt Microsoft.