Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
The verbal battle started before an appeal with little chance of success over Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) record-breaking $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). Despite it, Microsoft stock surged.
The two potential merger partners didn’t hold back their comments on Thursday. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a morning interview that the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to reject the acquisition was a “flawed ruling in every respect” based on judgments that “are not factually correct.”
He was anticipating an appeals procedure that, ideally, would go rapidly.
Microsoft President Brad Smith, who had made a concerted effort to close the deal in the UK, was probably even more forthright, telling the BBC that the outcome was “bad for Britain.”
“This decision… is probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain,” Smith remarked. People in the UK are surprised, dismayed, and their faith in technology has been seriously eroded.
The United Kingdom is less desirable as a destination to launch a company than the rest of the European Union, as this data makes abundantly evident.
In a national radio interview, Sarah Cardell, CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority, disagreed, saying, “I think this decision shows actually how important it is to support competition in the UK and that the UK is open for business.”
Cardell said, “We want to make an environment where lots of different companies can compete well, grow, and come up with new ideas.”
While the rest of the Communications sector surged higher on Thursday due to good results and a double-digit rise at Meta Platforms, Activision Blizzard stock was quiet, increasing by a small margin. The top companies in the industry all had gains of 2.5% or more. On the other hand, Activision has recovered from a drop of 11.5% on Wednesday due to the UK ruling.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was up 4%, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up 4%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.9%, and Meta was up 14%; Microsoft stock was up 2.5%.
At lunchtime on Thursday, Sony (NYSE:SONY) was up just 0.9% despite being responsible for Microsoft’s main competitor, the PlayStation platform, and therefore another major party to regulatory considerations over the planned merger.
Featured Image: Unsplash @ Ed Hardie
