ATVI - Activision CEO says UK ruling on Microsoft `flawed in every respect'

2023-04-27 08:37:05 ET

Activision ( NASDAQ: ATVI ) CEO Bobby Kotick said the UK antitrust regulator 's decision to block the videogame giant's sale to Microsoft ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) was a "flawed ruling in every respect."

"The ruling was disappointing," Kotick said in an interview with CNBC. "It was just a flawed ruling in every respect."

"These regulators they don't really understand our business," Kotick added. "They are making determinations and judgements that are not factually correct."

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority disclosed the decision on Wednesday, in what some analysts believe might be end of the of the road for Microsoft ( MSFT ) as far as the acquisition is concerned. Activision ( ATVI ) shares fell 11.5% on Wednesday in the wake of the CMA ruling.

Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said on Wednesday said that the company remains "fully committed" to the deal and will appeal the CMA's decision. Analysts pointed out that Microsoft's chances of winning on appeal with the CMA are slim and historically companies have lost their appeals with the UK regulator.

Kotick said that Activision ( ATVI ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) plan to appeal the ruling and believes there is a way to accelerate the process to get a quicker review from the UK regulator. Kotick expects to get more details about the appeal process over the next week and better understand what the timing will be.

We think "there is a way to accelerate the process and that the conclusions were so flawed that we should be able to get an accelerated result,"  Kotick said.

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