European Union antitrust regulators are asking Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rivals and customers about the software giant’s remedy with the UK for its planned $69B purchase of Activistion (NASDAQ:ATVI).
The European Commission has emailed companies to get feedback on the remedy that Microsoft provided to UK regulators last month, according to a Reuters report earlier Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the matter. The regulator hasn’t started a formal probe. It’s not clear which companies were asked for their input on the remedy.
A formal EC investigation into the remedy proposal appears unlikely, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, saying that Microsoft structured its deal with the UK to include compliance with EC remedies.
The U.K.’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, last month opened a probe into a newly restructured deal by Microsoft (MSFT) to buy Activision (ATVI).
Under the new deal, Microsoft (MSFT) will not acquire the cloud streaming rights to all current and future Activision (ATVI) games released in the next 15 years. These rights will instead be divested to the French group Ubisoft Entertainment (OTCPK:UBSFY).
“We remain confident in the work that we’re doing with the CMA, the European Commission, and here with the FTC in the US that we will close this acquisition,” Microsoft Xbox Chief Phil Spencer told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Wednesday.