UK antitrust authorities have blocked its $69 billion deal to acquire Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard.
Some observers have welcomed the ruling, arguing that regulators have allowed tech companies to amass too much power by scaling through acquisitions. “We feel that there has been over a decade of under-enforcement,” says Max von Thun, Europe director at think tank Open Markets, referring to past decisions to let Facebook merge with WhatsApp and Instagram.
Joost Rietveld, a professor at University College London who studies technology platforms, argues that cloud gaming is not a distinct market. “You have very different companies that use cloud gaming in very different ways and that are targeted at really diverse customers,” he says. “They’re lumping together all these offerings, and it's unclear that they're actively competing against each other and whether there is this unified harm to consumers if this deal were to go through.
The CMA’s decision comes days after the UK government announced that it would be giving the agency new powers to fine companies up to 10 percent of their global revenues if they breach local competition rules, and created a new “Digital Markets Unit” that is supposed to protect consumers and improve competition within the UK’s tech sector. That’s caused some alarm in the industry.
The company can still grow, but not so easily. “For Microsoft’s ambitions in cloud gaming, even if this setback proved fatal to the Activision deal, there are many other ways to expand in that market, for instance through the acquisition of smaller games publishers,” says Alex Connock, Senior Fellow in Management Practice at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Britain blocks Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision BlizzardBritain's top competition regulator on Wednesday moved to block Microsoft's acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
Consulte Mais informação »
UK blocks Microsoft $69 billion Activision deal over cloud gaming concernsBritain said it would block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard over its concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming.
Consulte Mais informação »
UK watchdog blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision BlizzardMicrosoft had offered to make popular video games such as “Call of Duty” available to rival platforms such as Nintendo and Sony.
Consulte Mais informação »
UK blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision dealThe veto by Britain’s antitrust watchdog is a potentially fatal blow for the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal.
Consulte Mais informação »
UK blocks Microsoft's $69 bln Activision deal over cloud gaming concernsBritain will block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming, dealing an unexpected blow to the biggest-ever deal in gaming.
Consulte Mais informação »
Microsoft’s $68.7BN Takeover Of ‘Call Of Duty’ Maker Activision Blizzard Blocked By UK RegulatorMicrosoft’s $68.7BN deal for games giant Activision Blizzard has been blocked by regulators in the UK. Both companies hit out at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which ruled the p…
Consulte Mais informação »