Sony CEO met with EU antitrust boss, a report says
The European Union’s market regulators reportedly are about to present Microsoft with a sheet containing issues they would like the company to resolve before they can agree to its planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in what would be the latest setback for the deal.
To make matters worse, Reuters now reports that Sony CEO Jim Ryan, possibly the greatest opponent to Microsoft’s ambitions, has had a meeting with EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The Danish politician has held this post since 2014. Unfortunately, the source cited by the report did not divulge any information about what was being said at the meeting.
It’s common practice to let competitors weigh in on cases like this and get their opinions. These statements are often available to the public, for example everyone can read what Sony, Ubisoft, and other companies told the Brazilian and UK regulators regarding the case.
While Microsoft’s deal was given the go-ahead in Brazil, regulars in the UK are skeptical about it. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States opted to sue Microsoft over the deal, which also led to Sony being handed a subpoena, as the Xbox maker believes this to be helpful for its defense at court.
Sony and Microsoft have been at each other’s throats over the planned acquisition, as Sony holds the belief that Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive game would be a huge blow to PlayStation sales. Microsoft has repeatedly argued against this, pointing at Nintendo’s success, and offered a deal to Sony, which would secure the release of Call of Duty on their consoles on equal terms. Nintendo has already accepted that same deal, while Sony seeks to torpedo the entire takeover instead.
It’s expected that we’ll get final decisions from the US, the UK, and the EU by summer 2023.
