Microsoft"s takeover of Activision Blizzard for £55 billion has hit many roadblocks along the way, with concerns about competition and multiplatform game quality being at the forefront of the challenges.
The acquisition was blocked by the United Kingdom"s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this year, saying that the deal would give an unfair advantage to Microsoft in the cloud gaming space. Now it seems Activision Blizzard has been working in the background to bring the fight back to the CMA.
The Financial Times has reported that Activision Blizzard has hired Lord David Pannick FC, who represented ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the hearings around breaches of Covid rules in the UK during 2020,, will be representing the company at a Competition Appeal Tribunal where it seeks to overturn the ruling.
This follows Microsoft"s announcement that they will be appealing the decision in April, where its president Brad Smith, attacked the CMA stating that "the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom."
It is yet to be confirmed when the appeal tribunal will take place. However, this reported hire shows that Activision Blizzard is determined to give itself the best possible chance of reversing the decision.
Source: Financial Times