The British antitrust, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said a new investigation into the merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, valued at $69 billion, could be necessary if the two companies decide to structure the deal differently to overcome the veto of the United Kingdom.
This statement comes after a US court approved the largest settlement ever in the gaming industry.
“The parties cannot propose new remedies once a final report has been issued, but they may choose to restructure the settlement, leading to a new merger investigation,” a CMA spokesperson said.
If the deal were to be brought full circle in the UK, this would mean the CMA launching a new ‘Phase 1’ investigation (where remedies can be proposed) to look into potential competition concerns.