Microsoft will make a final attempt to persuade EU and national antitrust authorities to approve its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Call of Duty”, at a private hearing on Feb. 21, the U.S. software giant said on Tuesday.
The company requested the hearing after receiving a statement of objections from the European Commission, which raised concerns about the potential anti-competitive effects of the deal.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the oral hearing. The Xbox maker announced the Activision Blizzard deal in January last year to boost its gaming portfolio and challenge the dominance of Tencent and Sony, but has faced regulatory hurdles in Europe, Britain, and the United States. Microsoft is expected to offer concessions after the hearing.
It has struck a 10-year agreement with Nintendo to make “Call of Duty” accessible on Nintendo consoles, a concession aimed at appeasing competition regulators but which has been opposed by Sony, which wants the deal to be scrapped.
