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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?


  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
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Jigsaah

Gold Member
No. ATVI is not even present in China directly. Also FTC and CMA, two main markets from the SEC filings, are still in hard block mode.
So I've been seeing in videos from various youtubers (which I take with a poisonous sized grain of salt) that there is some kind of pressure on the CMA from the government. I didnt read anything more into this because I'm the kinda guy who's only interested in results. However, I'm trying to understand this better.

So far I know this. Microsoft will appeal. The appeal working seems to be unlikely if history is to have any say. Also I guess the FTC didn't really block, but rather sued to block, which means they gotta go to court and build a case. What's the likelihood the FTC would win this case? If they lose does this mean they have to approve the deal?
 

ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
So far I know this. Microsoft will appeal. The appeal working seems to be unlikely if history is to have any say. Also I guess the FTC didn't really block, but rather sued to block, which means they gotta go to court and build a case. What's the likelihood the FTC would win this case? If they lose does this mean they have to approve the deal?
Both CMA appeal and FTC hearings are beyond the current deal deadline regardless, so it's as good as dead at this point.
 

ToadMan

Member
UK will be left without Xcloud and gamepass 🤣 software brexit .

And the death of xbox in the UK? Open goal for Sony and Nintendo as MS self-terminates xbox in it’s second largest market.

Meanwhile MS loses major revenue streams from ATVI and xbox as a whole, and spent $69bn on an acquisition no longer worth that amount.

Effectively xbox becomes irrelevant as a gaming platform - gaming is global, and just being present in the US is not enough to generate the income to compete with Sony or anyone else with a full global presence.

With the money rolling in from the now vacated and unopposed UK market, Sony would have yet more revenue to put into their offerings and a significant competitive advantage with third parties who want to sell their games globally. That allows Sony to make deals preferentially - whether for exclusivity or insisting the content doesn’t end up on GP.

Yeah I think Sony would be happy with that outcome - and I think it would be good for gaming as a whole too.
 
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Edmund

Member
yVUCeKd.jpg


Nah. We need this hero.


Who is this?
 

drganon

Member
No, they are proof that I am perfectly aware of what I'm doing and in control of my thoughts. You asked me a question, and I decided to give you an honest answer. I could have ignored it, but didn't. Insecure people are too cowardly to confront reality.

There is no need for that. And there are a lot of users in this thread whom you could give the exact same advice.
E69.gif
 

ToadMan

Member
These words are dripping with salt and insecurity.
This week was a big win for Xbox, and you hate it👌

…obtain all regulatory approvals required or recommended to consummate the merger and the other transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. These approvals include approval under, or notifications pursuant to, the HSR Act and the competition laws of the European Union, the United Kingdom, China and certain other jurisdictions.



The practical effect of this is typically that the merger may not be completed until the merger has been notified to the CMA and the merging parties have obtained clearance.


tfvDEoO.gif
 

ZehDon

Gold Member
So I've been seeing in videos from various youtubers (which I take with a poisonous sized grain of salt) that there is some kind of pressure on the CMA from the government. I didnt read anything more into this because I'm the kinda guy who's only interested in results. However, I'm trying to understand this better.

So far I know this. Microsoft will appeal. The appeal working seems to be unlikely if history is to have any say. Also I guess the FTC didn't really block, but rather sued to block, which means they gotta go to court and build a case. What's the likelihood the FTC would win this case? If they lose does this mean they have to approve the deal?
Sort of. The CMA is an independent regulatory body, which means the UK Government has no official authority to put pressure on the CMA in any way. However, behind the scenes, members of the current Government might put pressure on the members of the CMA. I'm not familiar enough with the CMA's membership to understand if this is a likely scenario.

With regards to the appeal, in the CMA's case, this isn't your typical appeal where it's basically asking the system "are you sure?". Instead, the appeal actually requires Microsoft to demonstrate that the CMA acted illogically, in which case their merger is sent right back to the CMA to review again. This is a very high bar, as it doesn't matter what deal Microsoft tries to offer up - if the CMA acted within acceptable decision making parameters, there's no grounds to re-review, and the deal is dead. The odds on Microsoft's success in their appeal are a divisive matter, as the CMA and EU basically came to the same conclusion - however the CMA rejected Microsoft's offers while the EU accepted them. Some believe this demonstrates the CMA acted illogically, some believe it doesn't. We'll have to wait and see.

The FTC has sued to block, which requires them going to court and presenting their case. Currently, this doesn't stop Microsoft from closing the deal - the FTC have to win to block it. The FTC is generally seen as being unable to win their case, given the pro-corporate mentality that permeates the American systems, and the fairly limited case the FTC has discussed so far. The head of the FTC has also expressed their willingness to pursue cases that aren't really supported by regulations and that they know they can't win, further emphasising the liklihood of them losing.

The important element to note is that Microsoft's agreement with Activision Blizzard King requires CMA sign off. If the CMA blocks the deal, and Microsoft loses their appeal - even if the deal is approved literally everywhere else, the deal is still dead as it exists today. Who knows what might come out about in this scenario.
 
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Bernoulli

M2 slut
No, they are proof that I am perfectly aware of what I'm doing and in control of my thoughts. You asked me a question, and I decided to give you an honest answer. I could have ignored it, but didn't. Insecure people are too cowardly to confront reality.

There is no need for that. And there are a lot of users in this thread whom you could give the exact same advice.
Will you come here after the results of the appeal ?
 

Ar¢tos

Member
Sort of. The CMA is an independent regulatory body, which means the UK Government has no official authority to put pressure on the CMA in any way. However, behind the scenes, members of the current Government might put pressure on the members of the CMA. I'm not familiar enough with the CMA's membership to understand if this is a likely scenario.

With regards to the appeal, in the CMA's case, this isn't your typical appeal where it's basically asking the system "are you sure?". Instead, the appeal actually requires Microsoft to demonstrate that the CMA acted illogically, in which case their merger is sent right back to the CMA to review again. This is a very high bar, as it doesn't matter what deal Microsoft tries to offer up - if the CMA acted within acceptable decision making parameters, there's no grounds to re-review, and the deal is dead. The odds on Microsoft's success in their appeal are a divisive matter, as the CMA and EU basically came to the same conclusion - however the CMA rejected Microsoft's offers while the EU accepted them. Some believe this demonstrates the CMA acted illogically, some believe it doesn't. We'll have to wait and see.

The FTC has sued to block, which requires them going to court and presenting their case. Currently, this doesn't stop Microsoft from closing the deal - the FTC have to win to block it. The FTC is generally seen as being unable to win their case, given the pro-corporate mentality that permeates the American systems, and the fairly limited case the FTC has discussed so far. The head of the FTC has also expressed their willingness to pursue cases that aren't really supported by regulations and that they know they can't win, further emphasising the liklihood of them losing.

The important element to note is that Microsoft's agreement with Activision Blizzard King requires CMA sign off. If the CMA blocks the deal, and Microsoft loses their appeal - even if the deal is approved literally everywhere else, the deal is still dead as it exists today. Who knows what might come out about in this scenario.
I see 2 options, either wait 10 years to make another deal like stipulated by the CMA or make a new deal that doesn't require CMA approval, but then risking huge fines by operating cloud gaming in the UK or get xcloud completely blocked in the UK + sales of Activision games.
 

Goalus

Member
…obtain all regulatory approvals required or recommended to consummate the merger and the other transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. These approvals include approval under, or notifications pursuant to, the HSR Act and the competition laws of the European Union, the United Kingdom, China and certain other jurisdictions.



The practical effect of this is typically that the merger may not be completed until the merger has been notified to the CMA and the merging parties have obtained clearance.


tfvDEoO.gif
Why do you feel the need to tell me this if there is nothing to worry about from your perspective?
 
Man some people fighting for this deal so hard like xbox life - dear I say their personal lives - depends on it
These shills gets paid imo
Sometimes I think if this deal fail it means ms will get rid of the Xbox
I don't think that will happen but the way these bots and shills act is so strange its like they're fighting for there survival 🤔
There's also a weird xbox guy in a famous arabic videogames fourms that I frequently visit he acts the same as these bots shills here and twitter and also repeat the same nonsense too
It's like he's fighting for his life lol
Some people in that fourm are questioning his mentality cuz believe me he's way more insane then senjutsu 😅
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
These shills gets paid imo
Sometimes I think if this deal fail it means ms will get rid of the Xbox
I don't think that will happen but the way these bots and shills act is so strange its like they're fighting for there survival 🤔
There's also a weird xbox guy in a famous arabic videogames fourms that I frequently visit he acts the same as these bots shills here and twitter and also repeat the same nonsense too
It's like he's fighting for his life lol
Some people in that fourm are questioning his mentality cuz believe me he's way more insane then senjutsu 😅
Okay, that is a case study we must examine!

Share the links!
 
Okay, that is a case study we must examine!

Share the links!
You can see his posts making fun of the Playstation and cma
I'm to lazy to translate 😁
 
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No it doesn't, the CMA has already decided. They have no pressure.
Oh, they certainly do. The politicians in the UK are asking a lot of questions, and while they don't want to to interfere with a private body's sovereignty, they're beginning to ask questions and certain government personalities have expressed a slight disappointment in the CMA's decision.

When you're dealing with billions of dollars, and large corporations like MS, things will get political. That's just the nature of things. They're saying to the CMA director that perhaps she hasn't looked at "the big picture". She says she's confident in the decision they made, however, it's evident now that the political influence is beginning to play a part. Below is the link for this meeting. A few sites reported on it, but it hasn't gotten much coverage. But that doesn't mean it's not important, it is.


How things go from here, we'll see...
 

Pelta88

Member
I got sent a clip of Jez and Rand on a podcast. The narrative was

"Microsoft will leave the UK... For COD."

D0guoQuWkAADBli.jpg


I don't dose Hopium and I don't snort Copium. But these clowns are really out there giving out free samples trying to get people hooked. Influence drug dealers selling nonsense to keep their viewership up.
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
Oh, they certainly do. The politicians in the UK are asking a lot of questions, and while they don't want to to interfere with a private body's sovereignty, they're beginning to ask questions and certain government personalities have expressed a slight disappointment in the CMA's decision.

When you're dealing with billions of dollars, and large corporations like MS, things will get political. That's just the nature of things. They're saying to the CMA director that perhaps she hasn't looked at "the big picture". She says she's confident in the decision they made, however, it's evident now that the political influence is beginning to play a part. Below is the link for this meeting. A few sites reported on it, but it hasn't gotten much coverage. But that doesn't mean it's not important, it is.


How things go from here, we'll see...
Oh you mean our friend Ben who was paid £2k a month by Microsoft’s lobbying firm was asking questions?

Pure muppetry.
 

ulantan

Member
And the death of xbox in the UK? Open goal for Sony and Nintendo as MS self-terminates xbox in it’s second largest market.

Meanwhile MS loses major revenue streams from ATVI and xbox as a whole, and spent $69bn on an acquisition no longer worth that amount.

Effectively xbox becomes irrelevant as a gaming platform - gaming is global, and just being present in the US is not enough to generate the income to compete with Sony or anyone else with a full global presence.

With the money rolling in from the now vacated and unopposed UK market, Sony would have yet more revenue to put into their offerings and a significant competitive advantage with third parties who want to sell their games globally. That allows Sony to make deals preferentially - whether for exclusivity or insisting the content doesn’t end up on GP.

Yeah I think Sony would be happy with that outcome - and I think it would be good for gaming as a whole too.
People who think that Microsoft would pull out of the uk don't care about videogames or competition. It's all about making sony pay for some reason.
 

jm89

Member
I got sent a clip of Jez and Rand on a podcast. The narrative was

"Microsoft will leave the UK... For COD."

D0guoQuWkAADBli.jpg


I don't dose Hopium and I don't snort Copium. But these clowns are really out there giving out free samples trying to get people hooked. Influence drug dealers selling nonsense to keep their viewership up.
Lol i normally would not listen their podcast. But the last few weeks it's been pure entertainment. Jez is an absolute mess right now.
 

ToadMan

Member
That's why it feels so comfortable for you to tell me something that I already know.

You already knew? Then why did you describe someone as “insecure” for asking how MS would skip around the CMA ruling?

And you may go ahead and answer this question for us all, now I’ve provided you with accurate information.
 
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