When the UK's Competition and Markets Authority decided to take a stand against Microsoft's $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard King acquisition, ultimately blocking the deal from being completed in the UK, it didn't take Microsoft long before it initiated proceedings to launch a retrial.
That retrial is set to start on July 28, and with that being the case, the CMA has been pushing for the trial to be delayed until October, however the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK has decided to stop this from happening, and blocked the CMA's attempt for a delayed hearing.
Specifically the CAT states: "The matter is significant and there is a large amount of material for any new counsel to digest, but we anticipate that a month allows ample time for that to happen - provided the CMA selects counsel with appropriate availability to prepare, especially given the support available from within the CMA and from its existing counsel team. The question answers itself: this is a team that should have sufficient time to ensure that the CMA's defence to the application is appropriately conducted."
This means that regardless of whether the CMA has had the chance to prepare a concrete case or not, the retrial that will decide whether the UK approves or continues to block the mega merger will kick off by the end of next month.
Do you think the end result will be overturned or remain as is, with Microsoft's mega deal blocked on UK shores?