“Call of Duty” creator Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) can intervene in Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) court dispute with Britain’s anti-trust regulator over its $69 billion purchase ban.
Microsoft is appealing the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) April ban on the agreement, which it said could damage cloud gaming competition.
The surprise move jeopardized gaming’s biggest deal, prompting companies to doubt Britain’s tech-friendly status.
Activision can now intervene in Microsoft’s Competition case Tribunal case, scheduled for next month. The tribunal will hear Activision’s case.
At a preliminary hearing in May, Microsoft’s attorneys called the CMA a global “outlier” for delaying the Activision purchase, which authorities, including the EU’s competition body, have authorized.
Microsoft is appealing an FTC ban on the purchase.
Microsoft president Brad Smith, who met Britain’s finance minister on Tuesday, said earlier this week that the corporation wanted to address authorities’ Activision purchase worries.
