Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard was rejected by the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) recently, a move that could threaten the entire deal globally. Now, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have hired powerful UK attorneys to appeal.
Activision Blizzard has contracted the services of a lawyer called Lord David Pannick KC of Blackstone Chambers, a barrister that has, in the past,represented Queen Elizabeth II, ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Princess Diana, and the UK government. Lord Pannick is clearly a big name. The biggest of the big. So they’re giving this appeal the best shot they can, since it does put the whole deal into danger if the UK maintains its rejection.
For its part, Microsoft has also hired its own big name barrister, Daniel Beard KC. With the hiring of different attorneys to represent them, both companies will appeal separately. KC is a legal term in the UK standing for King’s Counsel, a particularly distinguished level of senior lawyer. Both sides are now preparing their cases with these top legal representatives aiming to overturn the rejection of the nearly $70 billion acquisition.
According to a report on the legal developments by PC Gamer, analysis still believes that appealing the CMA’s rejection of the acquisition and merger is a longshot. The process involves the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, also known as the CAT. This agency effectively analyzes what the CMA does and verifies whether or not that agency made any mistakes or did not follow protocol. It is not really appealing the rejection so much as it is a kind of policing of the CMA and making sure that agency acted appropriately in determining its outcome.
Should Microsoft and Activision Blizzard win the appeal (or one of them does, at least), the result will be referred back to the CMA.
If the CAT rules that the CMA acted appropriately, then the deal is off in the UK, and perhaps, the world. Yet, even if it doesn’t go in the CMA’s favor the first time, the CMA gets to decide again after correcting for any potential missteps in its process.
