Microsoft and the CMA agree to put the brakes on their legal battle

Now that Microsoft's mega $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King has been approved in the United States, after the Federal Trade Commission failed to present an argument that was capable of putting the brakes on the merger, all eyes are back on the UK and the Competition and Markets Authority.

The plan from Microsoft was to see a return to legal proceedings later this month with the intention of getting the decision to block the deal by the CMA overruled, but this has since changed as well.

As noted by Microsoft and the CMA, the pair have decided to pause their legal battles with the intention to negotiate and find an amicable solution that will see the CMA giving the deal the greenlight without the pair needing to fight it out and drag each other's names through the mud in another nasty legal proceeding.

Speaking about the matter, Microsoft president Brad Smith stated: "While we ultimately disagree with the CMA's concerns, we are considering how the transaction might be modified in order to address those concerns in a way that is acceptable to the CMA. In order to prioritise work on these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that a stay of the litigation in the UK would be in the public interest and the parties have made a joint submission to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to this effect."

The CAT has yet to approve this plan by Microsoft and the CMA, but it does seem likely that this will be the next step forward to getting the deal approved in the UK, as it has around the rest of the world.