LogInThe Activision Blizzard CEO says he was surprised to learn that the heads of the FTC and CMA had met before the decision and believes the FTC used the CMA to block the deal.
Bobby Kotick has recently voiced his opinion that the US Federal Trade Commission employed the UK Competition and Markets Authority as a means of blocking Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Activision Blizzard's CEO discussed the blockage of Microsoft's acquisition of his company. He revealed his surprise upon learning that the head of the FTC, Lina Khan, had met with the chief of the CMA shortly before the regulator's decision and shared his belief that the FTC leveraged the CMA to obstruct the deal between the two firms.
"I was surprised to learn that Lina Khan and the head of the CMA had a meeting a week and a half ago in Washington. You know, legally, you're not supposed to be discussing active litigation," Kotick said. "I don't know that they did. But, you know, I think that that's what you're seeing now is that the CMA is being used as a tool by the FTC to be able to create these kinds of outcomes, and this isn't the way that they're supposed to be operating."
It's worth noting that there was no secrecy surrounding the meeting between the heads of the FTC and the CMA, and the discussion about the Microsoft deal did not officially take place.
Previously, the FTC had filed a lawsuit to prevent the Microsoft deal from proceeding in the US. Reports suggested that the company was planning to proceed with the deal despite the lawsuit and was awaiting approval from the European Commission and the CMA. However, the UK's regulator made an unexpected decision to block the deal.
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