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Microsoft Offers Concessions To EU Over Activision Blizzard Deal

By  |  March 19, 2023

Microsoft is formally engaging in discussions with European Union’s antitrust authorities to seek compromise on the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft has presented its remedies in a formal manner and is hopeful of receiving approval for the transaction.

Microsoft has now moved to alleviate those reservations with a formal concession package, Reuters reports, citing confirmation from a company spokesperson and a separate European Commission filing dated March 17. 

Related: Workers Union Wants EU To Approve Microsoft & Activision Blizzard Merger

The public docket for the case does not yet reflect this development, so the actual contents of the remedies that Microsoft proposed to the EU will likely remain unclear until at least next week. There’s no uncertainty about the regulator’s next step, however, with Brussels confirming it will now seek feedback from both consumers and Xbox rivals prior to making a ruling on the proposed merger. 

The current provisional deadline attached to the case is May 22, though that date has already been pushed back twice, each time by 10 days.