ATVI - Sony gaming chief pressing Microsoft/Activision concerns on EU antitrust arm

• The antitrust probes into Microsoft's ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) $69B bid for Activision Blizzard ( NASDAQ: ATVI ) roll on, as Reuters reports that Sony ( NYSE: SONY ) gaming chief Jim Ryan met with EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager Wednesday to discuss the proposed deal.
• The European Commission - the antitrust enforcer for the European Union - is set to issue its ruling on the deal by April 11.
• This week, though, it's preparing to warn Microsoft about the potential anticompetitive effects of such a combination.
• Those would be of a piece with objections lobbied in the UK - where the Competition and Markets Authority has extended its review into late April from early March - and in the United States, where the Federal Trade Commission has sued to stop the transaction .

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