The European Commission (EC) has delayed its Microsoft Activision Agreement decision as the Xbox maker offered remedies to the regulator to try to win its approval. The move follows reports that the EC is likely to approve the deal without asking for meaningful remedies like its UK counterpart, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
EC will now make a decision in agreement with Microsoft Activision at the end of May
As reported by Reuters and Bloomberg Law, Microsoft submitted a settlement filing to the EC yesterday, March 16. The commitments the company is legally prepared to make have not been made public, but the regulator will now have to “market test” the remedies and get feedback from Microsoft’s competitors and customers.
Therefore, EC will announce its decision on May 22.
According to Bloomberg’s law, it’s the CMA that Microsoft is most concerned about. The UK regulator had the harshest response to the deal, going public with its criticisms and concerns. With the CMA due to make its decision on April 26, Microsoft will now focus on the UK in a desperate bid to secure approval.
Microsoft has already acknowledged that there will be a slight delay in completing the Activision Blizzard deal if it is ultimately approved.