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[DForce]

Why does that matter at this point?

The deadline is today for this merger, so Microsoft and Activision have to agree to an extension agreement.

I think the problem is that there's a bit of uncertainty when it comes to the adjournment.

The judge has to be convinced there's sufficient evidence to grant one. So if it's not granted then it could probably create some problems.

 

[MasterCornholio]

The deadline is today for this merger, so Microsoft and Activision have to agree to an extension agreement.

I think the problem is that there's a bit of uncertainty when it comes to the adjournment.

The judge has to be convinced there's sufficient evidence to grant one. So if it's not granted then it could probably create some problems.

So to close it on the 19th (for example) they need an extension. If no extension is given then the deal won't happen.

That's how I'm understanding this.

Anyways I'm sure there will be news of one soon unless something happens.

 

[Bernoulli]

Why does that matter at this point?

it means the CMA dropped the case, wich is really weird

even if sony signed the deal, the concerns were about cloud

all this make it seem like the FTC and CMA worked together from the start and the conspiracy was actually the truth

 

[zapper]

So to close it on the 19th (for example) they need an extension. If no extension is given then the deal won't happen.

That's how I'm understanding this.

Anyways I'm sure there will be news of one soon unless something happens.

I don't think so, the deal isn't at risk unless activision bails out. either they extend or there is this possibility from what I understand

 

[MasterCornholio]

it means the CMA dropped the case, wich is really weird

even if sony signed the deal, the concerns were about cloud

all this make it seem like the FTC and CMA worked together from the start and the conspiracy was actually the truth

It seems weird that they chose different angles for the block.

 

[PaintTinJr]

So to close it on the 19th (for example) they need an extension. If no extension is given then the deal won't happen.

That's how I'm understanding this.

Anyways I'm sure there will be news of one soon unless something happens.

Yeah, when the judge said that about Thursday midday, he asked both Mr Beard and Lord Graben(?) from MSFT/ATVI if that date was an issue - as a test to see both parties were aligned and a small extension was no issue to the merger - and both agreed to the timeline, probably without authority to state their company's position on the 19th.

It felt the judge was desperately looking to place small obstacles in the way of the parties to hopefully get the deal to collapse and save his decisions getting caught up in the circus of the CMA failing the public by the leverage Sony was put under.

I suspect his decision to make an adjournment only with evidence will make his decision repeatedly used in UK law, given that none of the CMA or Microsoft team expected that. Without the confirmation of an actual adjournment before the 18th I suspect it changes the legal position of ATVI to extend with Microsoft, as the merger at that point has been blocked via the ongoing litigation, and if so probably takes some aspects of the decision away from Microsoft and back into the control of Bobby, and maybe even ATVI shareholders, and then Microsoft's top shareholders for a bigger offer.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Haven't read any news that the CMA has reversed their block, and seeing as the CMA approveal is needed for the merger to happen. I don't see an extension happening.

 

[Heisenberg007]

The deadline is today for this merger, so Microsoft and Activision have to agree to an extension agreement.

I think the problem is that there's a bit of uncertainty when it comes to the adjournment.

The judge has to be convinced there's sufficient evidence to grant one. So if it's not granted then it could probably create some problems.

I have one question.

What happens if the judge decides on Thursday (July 20th) that there are no sufficient grounds to adjourn the CAT appeal and the new restructured deal offer des not contain material changes.

In that case, wouldn't the CMA's Interim Order come into full effect and the acquisition would be blocked retrospectively on July 18?

 

[DForce]

So to close it on the 19th (for example) they need an extension. If no extension is given then the deal won't happen.

That's how I'm understanding this.

Anyways I'm sure there will be news of one soon unless something happens.

Yeah, Bobby can walk if he doesn't agree to an extension but I think an extension is likely going to happen. He might just request a lot more money.

 

[DForce]

I have one question.

What happens if the judge decides on Thursday (July 20th) that there are no sufficient grounds to adjourn the CAT appeal and the new restructured deal offer des not contain material changes.

In that case, wouldn't the CMA's Interim Order come into full effect and the acquisition would be blocked retrospectively on July 18?

I don't know for sure but that would be my guess. That would cause a lot of problems if the CAT had to rule based on the original appeal/order by Microsoft.

 

[M1987]

Haven't read any news that the CMA has reversed their block, and seeing as the CMA approveal is needed for the merger to happen. I don't see an extension happening.

The CMA are approving the deal though.The attitude from when they first blocked and when the FTC lost has completely changed,so the stories about the government getting involved are obviously true even though they was supposed to be independent

 

[PaintTinJr]

I have one question.

What happens if the judge decides on Thursday (July 20th) that there are no sufficient grounds to adjourn the CAT appeal and the new restructured deal offer des not contain material changes.

In that case, wouldn't the CMA's Interim Order come into full effect and the acquisition would be blocked retrospectively on July 18?

From memory the judge told Mr Beard he would keep ordering them to do it again, as he was really concerned about this not becoming a ploy by which CMA merger decisions would get disarmed at the 11th hour by claims of "material difference" and " special reasons" by merging parties, and the CMA failing in their duty to make that determination before a section 40 and Section 41A extension and renegotiation was entered into.

So without new evidence to support the CMA had done their job, he wasn't adjourning and Microsoft would have to fight their appeal on the state of things as they were when the report was published for moving to final decision - effectively killing the deal, as the report vs the state of Microsoft at the time holds up easy, when the CMA expert always has the winning hand.

 

[Bernoulli]

It seems weird that they chose different angles for the block.

they had the same until the CMA dropped the consoles but the FTC kept them

but still, just keeping the block and not backing down would've made Activision pull out on the 18th

now it's over

 

[Astray]

I have one question.

What happens if the judge decides on Thursday (July 20th) that there are no sufficient grounds to adjourn the CAT appeal and the new restructured deal offer des not contain material changes.

In that case, wouldn't the CMA's Interim Order come into full effect and the acquisition would be blocked retrospectively on July 18?

They need to actually convert the interim order into a final order and they already said they are not going to do so until they study MS's latest proposal.

 

[PaintTinJr]

They need to actually convert the interim order into a final order and they already said they are not going to do so until they study MS's latest proposal.

It happens automatically after the 6weeks, or if the judge orders it sooner - probably by not giving the adjournment.

 

[Bernoulli]

From memory the judge told Mr Beard he would keep ordering them to do it again, as he was really concerned about this not becoming a ploy by which CMA merger decisions would get disarmed at the 11th hour by claims of "material difference" and " special reasons".

So without new evidence to support the CMA had done their job, he wasn't adjourning and Microsoft would have to fight their appeal on the state of things as they were when the report was published for moving to final decision - effectively killing the deal, as the report vs the state of Microsoft at the time holds up easy, when the CMA expert always has the winning hand.

 

[Chiggs]

The Guardian, a notably left of center publication, weighs in with a decidedly critical piece on the CMA:

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle | Nils Pratley

Regulating Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard could make UK games market international outlier

www.theguardian.com

There's no guarantee that the CMA would accept a UK carve-out, of course. But, assuming it did, one has to wonder if such a regulatory victory would be pyrrhic. On one hand, the CMA would be able to claim that it had forced Microsoft to go further than its inadequate first remedies. On the other, the UK gaming market might quickly come to be seen from overseas as an oddball place where different rules apply, which doesn't sound great from the point of view of attracting inward investment into an industry where the UK has traditionally done well.

The shame is that the CMA's objections back in April sounded principled and coherent. The takeover of a big content company (Activision) by a big platform provider (Microsoft) would be a major event, and the specific concern was that it would happen just as the market was transitioning from consoles to cloud-based streaming. The CMA wanted to allow competition to flourish freely in cloud-based services during the development stage. That was one reason it wasn't impressed with time-limited behavioural remedies – they require constant policing by regulators and can work against innovation and dynamism. The argument had a certain pro-competition purity about it.

It is a hard argument to sustain in isolation, however. If the US has been thwarted from adopting a similarly robust stance, the danger for the CMA is that its virtuous approach ends up making the UK games market an international outlier, to no domestic benefit. To repeat, there are more laps of the regulatory track to complete, so it's still possible that the CMA will find an elegant solution. It is hard to see what it could be, though.

Ouch.

 

[KungFucius]

No he doesn't. He has that without the deal going through.

He wants to continue being CEO OR get a MUCH LARGER golden parachute. You can tell it by his comments made in May about the scandal. And now he has the leverage to do either. He holds all the cards right now.

The shareholders voted to close the deal with MS. Dropping out of it without getting their approval is not going to happen.

What other company would give more than $69 billion?

Imaginary large company that exists and wants to buy ABK at some imaginary price and Kotick and the ABK board want to go through another year plus of acquisition fun because this makes so much sense. Really, I can't believe anyone thinks companies act like this. ABK is not both worth 50% more and facing a certain dearth of companies that will buy at that price or investors who will shoot the stock price up like that if this deal fails.

 

[Bernoulli]

The Guardian, a notably left of center publication, weighs in with a decidedly critical piece on the CMA:

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle | Nils Pratley

Regulating Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard could make UK games market international outlier

www.theguardian.com

Ouch.

Something happened, CMA really lost the plot and now they are doing more damage to the UK
That's why the judge was mad at them yesterday
They should protect consulers and not change their views every second when Something happens at the USA

They've been incoherent the last few days or they just got paid

 

[TrebleShot]

The Guardian, a notably left of center publication, weighs in with a decidedly critical piece on the CMA:

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle | Nils Pratley

Regulating Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard could make UK games market international outlier

www.theguardian.com

Ouch.

So basically be MS bitch. Give them what they want, doesn't matter what the practical implementation of it is...bend the knee and accept your overlords.

Haha classic UK bullshit, no one should take us seriously when it comes to legislation, approval bodies etc. Nonsense.

 

[dotnotbot]

CMA, you were on the verge of greatness, you were this close

 

[Bernoulli]

CMA, you were on the verge of greatness, you were this close

everything was going to plan

i suspect that the ones that were supervising the case got changed or something
i don't see any other possibility

 

[Roxkis_ii]

The CMA are approving the deal though.The attitude from when they first blocked and when the FTC lost has completely changed,so the stories about the government getting involved are obviously true even though they was supposed to be independent

Untill I see word from the CMA that they have reserved their decision, all else is cope.

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

it means the CMA dropped the case, wich is really weird

even if sony signed the deal, the concerns were about cloud

all this make it seem like the FTC and CMA worked together from the start and the conspiracy was actually the truth

Wait… there are now people who think that regulatory bodies from two different countries are conspiring to block Microsoft from buying a videogame publisher?

I can't even be bothered looking up the details, this is the stupidest fucking thing I've read all year. Some of you take this hobby way too seriously.

 

[GHG]

The Guardian, a notably left of center publication, weighs in with a decidedly critical piece on the CMA:

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle

CMA is in danger of securing pyrrhic victory in Call of Duty battle | Nils Pratley

Regulating Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard could make UK games market international outlier

www.theguardian.com

Ouch.

Unfortunately the article falls flat on it's face:

If the US has been thwarted from adopting a similarly robust stance

The US FTC took a completely different stance and decided to focus their PI case on matters concerning console SLC.

And considering the US judge's admission (slash, hint to the FTC at the time to change tact, which they didn't take by the way) that consoles were due to go "extinct" along with the EU demanding remedies related to cloud in order to approve the deal, they were on the money with their concerns and were well positioned to defend their stance.

Why they have since folded like a house of cards however, only they know. Their sudden desire to get things concluded ASAP (remember, they were the ones asking for more time when the appeal was being discussed) along with glances over to the Microsoft/Activision table when matters concerning deadlines were being discussed do begin to paint a picture though.

 

[Chiggs]

Haha classic UK bullshit, no one should take us seriously when it comes to legislation, approval bodies etc. Nonsense.

I think the argument is that flawed rulings will make it so that nobody takes the UK seriously and that the CMA has backed itself into a corner. Similarly, the FTC is currently under a lot of scrutiny in the U.S. because of their recent strategy to challenge everything, but then prepare bad cases which don't stand a chance of winning.

There's a line of thinking that both the CMA and FTC should do more negotiation with these companies to get what they want, rather than slamming the door shut and leaving themselves in an unenviable spot, thus making themselves look silly and possibly detracting foreign business.

 

[GHG]

I think the argument is that flawed rulings will make it so that nobody takes the UK seriously and that the CMA has backed itself into a corner. Similarly, the FTC is currently under a lot of scrutiny in the U.S. because of their recent strategy to challenge everything, but then prepare bad cases which don't stand a chance of winning.

There's a line of thinking that both the CMA and FTC should do more negotiation with these companies to get what they want, rather than slamming the door shut and leaving themselves in an unenviable spot, thus making themselves look silly and possibly detracting foreign business.

Acts like this only "detract" foreign businesses that are of a particular size though, and most of times they are at a size at which there becomes a threat to local innovation and small business growth.

UKTI/DIT are not primarily concerned with appeasing and attracting the largest businesses possible, take it from me.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

I've stopped pretending to know what's going to happen after the CMA blocked on cloud concerns after having dropped their console concerns.

We're closer than ever to having an answer though, so that's nice.

 

[Aguero9320]

So now CMA aren't the final boss, CAT are? Despite months of the same people saying CAT were powerless?

Or is Bobby now the final boss?

I can't keep up. Like one of those games where you think it's over and an old boss you thought you killed earlier comes back and it turns out they were BEHIND IT ALL ALONG All you can say is FFS and play on after coming this far.

That hearing yesterday was just as embarrassing for the UK's processes as the FTC hearings were for the US. Any pretence of the UK being better went right out the window. And I'm British lol.

 

[Bernoulli]

The Finale will be Microsoft leaves the UK and the CAT closes the CMA

 

[GHG]

Wait… there are now people who think that regulatory bodies from two different countries are conspiring to block Microsoft from buying a videogame publisher?

I can't even be bothered looking up the details, this is the stupidest fucking thing I've read all year. Some of you take this hobby way too seriously.

It's no secret that agencies like the FTC, EU commision and the CMA work together and share information when there is a cross-border transaction that they are investigating. It's stated in black and white in their terms:

 

[Bernoulli]

So now CMA aren't the final boss, CAT are? Despite months of the same people saying CAT were powerless?

Or is Bobby now the final boss?

I can't keep up. Like one of those games where you think it's over and an old boss you thought you killed earlier comes back and it turns out they were BEHIND IT ALL ALONG All you can say is FFS and play on after coming this far.

That hearing yesterday was just as embarrassing for the UK's processes as the FTC hearings were for the US. Any pretence of the UK being better went right out the window. And I'm British lol.

The CMA was the final boss, but something changed and they dropped the block, but the CAT judge found it weird that the CMA dropped everything after the FTC decision
And he is mad that the CMA instead of protecting consumers they are reacting to what is happening in the US and being influenced by MS and ACTI

 

[GHG]

The CMA was the final boss, but something changed and they dropped the block, but the CAT judge found it weird that the CMA dropped everything after the FTC decision
And he is mad that the CMA instead of protecting consumers they are reacting to what is happening in the US and being influenced by MS and ACTI

Yep because what's going on at the moment poses and integrity risk to his court.

I mean, if you're going to go down this road at least make an effort to make it seem less obvious.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

The CMA was the final boss, but something changed and they dropped the block, but the CAT judge found it weird that the CMA dropped everything after the FTC decision
And he is mad that the CMA instead of protecting consumers they are reacting to what is happening in the US and being influenced by MS and ACTI

The CMA dropped the block?
Source?

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

It's no secret that agencies like the FTC, EU commision and the CMA work together and share information when there is a cross-border transaction that they are investigating. It's stated in black and white in their terms:

Yes. Exactly. That's not a conspiracy.

 

[Aguero9320]

The CMA was the final boss, but something changed and they dropped the block, but the CAT judge found it weird that the CMA dropped everything after the FTC decision
And he is mad that the CMA instead of protecting consumers they are reacting to what is happening in the US and being influenced by MS and ACTI

He started off like that, but by the end it was clear he was in support of what they wanted to do and just wants to make sure the resolution is unchallengeable.

I actually do exclude that guy from my criticism. He was in a difficult spot where he just wanted them to say why they had flip flopped, and they couldn't. Awkward timing. He's not anti deal though, that was plainly obvious, just pro not embarrassing himself.

 

[ArtHands]

My rubbish wish is simply for MS to increase their market share in the console space (relative to the last generation) by the end of this generation and to have at least 40 million GamePass subscribers. Why is that asking too much?

Because it takes more than that to change things around or even move the needle. Especially when COD is still on Playstation in the coming decade. Really not hard to figure it out

 

[Ar¢tos]

So now CMA aren't the final boss, CAT are? Despite months of the same people saying CAT were powerless?

Or is Bobby now the final boss?

I can't keep up. Like one of those games where you think it's over and an old boss you thought you killed earlier comes back and it turns out they were BEHIND IT ALL ALONG All you can say is FFS and play on after coming this far.

That hearing yesterday was just as embarrassing for the UK's processes as the FTC hearings were for the US. Any pretence of the UK being better went right out the window. And I'm British lol.

It's Sister Friede in disguise. 4 stage boss, full HP bar each stage, a helper on the 2nd stage and a small amount of Estus for the whole fight.

 

[bitbydeath]

So now CMA aren't the final boss, CAT are? Despite months of the same people saying CAT were powerless?

Or is Bobby now the final boss?

I can't keep up. Like one of those games where you think it's over and an old boss you thought you killed earlier comes back and it turns out they were BEHIND IT ALL ALONG All you can say is FFS and play on after coming this far.

That hearing yesterday was just as embarrassing for the UK's processes as the FTC hearings were for the US. Any pretence of the UK being better went right out the window. And I'm British lol.

Activision > CMA > CAT > CMA.
Nothings really changed, Microsoft want to discuss remedies which CMA already kicked back that they must be structural (ie divestment)

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

Source on that?

Walt Disney (DIS) - Cash on Hand

List of the top public companies ranked by cash on hand. A company’s cash on hand also refered as cash or cash equivalents (CCE), is the amount of accessible money a business has.

companiesmarketcap.com

 

[Three]

Haven't read any news that the CMA has reversed their block, and seeing as the CMA approveal is needed for the merger to happen. I don't see an extension happening.

I think the extension will happen. In fact I think the only reason MS paused the CAT appeal is because this way the CMA isn't in a block status and they can argue that the CMA hadn't made a decision to satisfy the contract yet. Without it I'm pretty sure Activison would have demanded its $3B and some shareholders could have caused problems for MS if it closed over a CMA block.

 

[Varteras]

He started off like that, but by the end it was clear he was in support of what they wanted to do and just wants to make sure the resolution is unchallengeable.

I actually do exclude that guy from my criticism. He was in a difficult spot where he just wanted them to say why they had flip flopped, and they couldn't. Awkward timing. He's not anti deal though, that was plainly obvious, just pro not embarrassing himself.

Yeah. As it's been said, his biggest concern was the integrity of the UK process. The CMA, acting in a rather irregular manner and clearly giving the appearance of being dependent on a foreign authority to make a decision, put him in a very tight spot. He had to tread carefully. He couldn't come off as antagonistic and stubborn out of revenge for the situation but he also couldn't just plainly accept the situation and make it seem like the whole UK process simply rolled over. I think, given his circumstance, he did a good job. Certainly better than I would have done. I would have told the CMA to shove it with their "trust us" attitude when they pulled the stunt they just did. To be clear, not that they changed their stance based on new information, but that they kept quiet about their dealings with Microsoft and then waited until the FTC lost to announce it. Crunching everyone's timetables and putting an unnecessary burden on the CAT. If they would have shown up to me with no official deal after that, I would have denied them.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

doesn't this need to happen today?

will they announce an extension or will MS scrap it?

 

[GHG]

doesn't this need to happen today?

will they announce an extension or will MS scrap it?

No matter what happens Microsoft will never scrap this.

 

[Negotiator101]

doesn't this need to happen today?

will they announce an extension or will MS scrap it?

Scrap what?

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Scrap what?

I thought if there was no deal they had to pay $3billion. Doesn't the deal need to be done today? It doesn't look like it'll happen today. So wouldn't they need to scrap it or extend it?

 

[Zheph]

I don't think its an option MS is desperate to stick it to Sony and Activision is desperate for more money, beautiful match

 

[Negotiator101]

I thought if there was no deal they had to pay $3billion. Doesn't the deal need to be done today? It doesn't look like it'll happen today. So wouldn't they need to scrap it or extend it?

They ain't scrapping anything, I imagine they've extended the deadline, we'll find out today anyway.

 

[Topher]

I thought if there was no deal they had to pay $3billion. Doesn't the deal need to be done today? It doesn't look like it'll happen today. So wouldn't they need to scrap it or extend it?

The deal doesn't fall apart if not done today. It just means ABK can walk away since MS had not fulfilled their side of the agreement. Gaining government approval is Microsoft's responsibility. But both sides have said they wish to continue on with the deal. An extension will probably be agreed on and filed with the SEC, I'm guessing.

 

[PaintTinJr]

I think the extension will happen. In fact I think the only reason MS paused the CAT appeal is because this way the CMA isn't in a block status and they can argue that the CMA hadn't made a decision to satisfy the contract yet. Without it I'm pretty sure Activison would have demanded its $3B and some shareholders could have caused problems for MS if it closed over a CMA block.

They need the appeal adjourned to stop litigating to be in control AFAIK, as it stands ATVI can walk away and still have acted in good faith. The lack of adjournment by the 18th makes it an ATVI decision because the litigation, in of itself renders the CMA report final - for it to be appealed - which has a standing block order that fails the SEC filing requirements, meaning ATVI completed their end. Absent the appeal, and the process still having 6weeks, would mean ATVI would be held in the extension for 6weeks to have upheld their end to complete the merger