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UK Competition Authority extends investigation period into Microsoft's deal with Activision
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Microsoft's acquisition of publishing giant Activision is still in effect, despite all the concessions Xbox has made in favor of companies opposed to the deal, led, of course, by Sony.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently delayed its plan to publish its final report on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard by up to eight weeks.
The deadline for publishing the report has been postponed from March 1 to April 26, although the competition authority said on Thursday that it intends to conclude the investigation as quickly as possible and before that date. This new extension was justified by the Chairman of the Investigative Committee martin coleman who said:
The CMA considers that there are special reasons for not preparing and publishing the report during the original reporting period.
In making this decision, the investigation team took into account the scope and complexity of the investigation, the need to consider a large volume of evidence as well as the submissions of the principal and third parties, and the need to allow sufficient time to conduct a thorough investigation taking into account the comments received, in order to reach a final decision in full within the statutory timeframe.
In September, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation into the $68.7 billion merger had formally moved into a second phase in which monitoring is becoming more complex due to, the regulator says, antitrust concerns and influence over competitors.
The Competition Authority also expressed its deep concern about the impact of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision on PlayStation's ability to compete, as the deal would see Microsoft acquire ownership of the popular Call of Duty shooter series.