Many were shocked when the UK's Competition and Markets Authority decided to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard recently, especially since the reason behind the CMA's blocking revolved around the cloud gaming market and how this could affect competition in that sector down the line. Needless to say, Microsoft hasn't been happy about the decision, and announced instantly that it would be appealing it.
Now, The Telegraph (thanks, Yahoo! Finance) has reported that Microsoft intends to lodge its appeal against the CMA "in the coming days" and that it has brought on a lawyer who is said to have experience with overcoming regulatory bodies.
Daniel Beard KC has been enlisted to help ensure Microsoft succeeds in winning this appeal, continuing his work which originally started late in the approval process and shortly before the CMA blocked the acquisition.
As for the timeline of the appeal, it's said that it could take months, and well beyond the original July 18 deadline that was set. However, this deadline will likely be extended anyway, as US regulators seem to also want to challenge the acquisition.
It is also said in the report that the European Commission is expected to release their verdict on the matter within the coming weeks, and that this body is leaning towards approving the deal.