Microsoft and the UK CMA agree to a “stay of the litigation” to negotiate restructuring the Activision deal, after a US court rejected the FTC's arguments
the UK regulatory authority that is blocking the Activision deal — now say they have agreed to a “stay of litigation” that would allow the two groups to negotiate changes to the deal. h/t @jordannovet Jordan Novet / @jordannovet : “In order to be able to prioritise work on these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that a stay of litigation in the UK would be in the public interest and all parties have made a joint submission to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to this effect.” @martinsfp : Shortly after the FTC's block on the deal is ruled illegal in the US, things get moving in the UK... https://twitter.com/... Forums: Hacker News : Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard
Context & Ripple Effects
The stay shifts the UK process from a court fight to remedy negotiations, following earlier expectations that the CMA would oppose the transaction. It matters because the US court outcome removed one major obstacle without resolving the separate UK review.
The subsequent record shows the negotiation path led to a proposed transfer of Activision cloud-gaming rights to Ubisoft, which the CMA later said addressed its concerns in its revised-offer assessment.
First-order effects
- Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and the CMA can pause their litigation timetable and concentrate on changes that could make the acquisition acceptable in the UK.
- The US ruling strengthens Microsoft’s negotiating position, but the CMA remains the decision-maker on whether any restructured transaction resolves its competition concerns.
Second-order effects
- A remedy process puts cloud-gaming rights and distribution commitments—not simply the deal’s price—at the center of the UK review; the later Ubisoft-rights proposal illustrates that direction.
- The FTC’s failed initial bid to stop the deal leaves it with a more difficult procedural path, even as it later revived its challenge after the deal’s closing.
Third-order effects
- Large platform acquisitions may increasingly be decided through jurisdiction-specific remedies that separate or license strategically important rights, rather than through an all-or-nothing approval decision.
- If this approach persists, cloud gaming becomes a distinct antitrust focal point: regulators can seek to preserve alternative routes to game distribution while allowing broader consolidation.
The trend: This is one data point in a shift toward remedy-led scrutiny of platform acquisitions, with regulators targeting control over emerging distribution channels such as cloud gaming.