Despite Xbox announcing that its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has the backing of global regulators, Canada’s regulatory agency has come out publicly and said it does not support the deal.
In a letter, Canadian Competition Bureau lawyer Jonathan Bitron wrote to Microsoft lawyers Beth Wilkinson and Bombo Obaro to address some “factual errors” in a court document submitted during an evidentiary hearing between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Microsoft. Referring to Microsoft’s announcement that Microsoft is in “every global regulatory group” with Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard.
In a video conference on May 5, 2023, contrary to the above quotations from the memorandum, the Bureau informed Microsoft and Activision’s Canadian counsel that the Bureau had concluded that the proposed merger would result in substantial deterrence and/or reduction. “The Bureau continues to monitor competition and transaction related to gaming consoles and multigame subscription services (as well as cloud gaming),” Pitron wrote.
“We have received notice from the Canadian Competition Bureau that Activision will continue to monitor our acquisition of Blizzard after the expiration of the formal waiting period preventing the deal from closing,” a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN in a statement. “We continue to work with regulators around the world to address any remaining concerns.”
Microsoft Gets Activision Blizzard: The Story So Far
