Microsoft President and UK Finance Minister Discuss Activision Takeover Block
On Tuesday, Microsoft’s president held discussions with Britain’s finance minister and expressed his intention to collaborate with regulators in order to obtain UK authorization for the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the creator of “Call of Duty,” which is valued at $69 billion.
Britain’s competition authorities blocked the takeover in April in a shock decision that puts the games’ biggest-ever deal at risk, prompting a furious response from two groups that questioned whether the country was still open to tech companies.
Microsoft has since appealed, and its president Brad Smith met British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt for talks in London on Tuesday, a government source said, without giving details.
Also in London, Smith told the techUK Tech Policy Leadership conference he was hopeful the outcome could change, adding: “I’m looking for solutions.”
“If regulators have concerns, we want to address them. If there are problems, we want to resolve them. If the UK wants to set regulatory requirements beyond the EU, we want to find ways to meet them.”
According to reports, Smith was also due to meet Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) officials during a visit to London this week.
He said he had always “considered the UK a great place to live, learn and build”.
Smith criticized Britain after the CMA veto, saying it would undermine confidence in the UK as a technology destination.
The EU approved the Activision deal in May after accepting remedies proposed by Microsoft that were broadly comparable to those it had proposed in the UK.
Microsoft has also filed an anti-trade complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission after the agency said it was stifling competition.
Britain’s appeal is due to be heard next month, with a ruling likely in August or September.
In his speech on Tuesday, Smith focused on how artificial intelligence should be managed, saying it should not be the sole responsibility of tech companies. “It has to be governed by the rule of law,” he said, adding: “And we need regulations to manage it.”
He said Microsoft and its partner OpenAI already used a safety board to review the features and standards of their AI models before deploying them, and such an approach could be replicated more widely.
“Just like an airplane, just like a bus, just like a car, an efficient model will probably have to pass that kind of review,” he said. “And that… should probably get permission.
“And of course that means the licensor has to be in a position to make that decision.”
