Now Microsoft boss praises CMA after takeover mood tantrum

On Jan 2, 2024

Updated: 22:00, 1 January 2024

Takeover tantrum: Microsoft boss Brad Smith

The boss of Microsoft has carried out a dramatic U-turn after beforehand claiming the UK was ‘bad for business’.

Brad Smith launched a scathing assault in April final yr after the tech large was blocked from shopping for Call of Duty maker Activision for £60billion by British regulators.

At the time, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned the deal would result in Microsoft having a ‘stranglehold’ over the fast-growing cloud gaming trade.

But following his tantrum, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard went away and revised the phrases of the deal, which the CMA then accredited.

And in a humiliating climbdown yesterday, Smith described the regulator as ‘tough but fair’.

He advised the BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: ‘It pushed Microsoft to change the acquisition that we had proposed.

‘I think the CMA vindicated its position but still created a pragmatic path forward for innovation and investment.’

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