Microsoft Prepared To Defend Widely Opposed Activision Deal In EU Hearing

Microsoft Corp MSFT President Brad Smith prepared to convince EU antitrust regulators at a closed hearing that the $69 billion Activision Blizzard, Inc ATVI deal will boost competition.
Smith will lead a delegation of 18 senior executives, including Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, while CEO Robert Kotick will represent Activision, Reuters reports.
Microsoft was ready to address concerns with "Call of Duty" licensing offers similar to the 10-year deal with Nintendo Co, Ltd NTDOF NTDOY and regulatory undertakings.
Sony Group Corp SONY, which opposed the deal, sent its gaming chief Jim Ryan.
Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google and chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp NVDA, which has a gaming business, also participated in the hearing.
The EU hearing, with dozens of lawyers, officials, and rivals, comes just two weeks after Britain's merger regulator provisionally found that the deal could substantially harm competition.
Microsoft recently received the EU regulators' initial findings regarding the deal, Bloomberg reports.
The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority suggested several structural remedies, including divesting the business associated with Call of Duty or blocking the merger altogether.
In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission is locked in a lengthy legal process after formally suing to veto the transaction.
Microsoft has repeatedly said it has no plans to make Call of Duty exclusive.
Spencer maintained that the company plans to seed its content across as many screens and systems as possible.
Price Action: MSFT shares traded lower by 0.68% at $256.30 premarket on the last check Tuesday.

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