According to individuals familiar with the situation, E.U. antitrust authorities are inquiring with competitors and customers of Microsoft (MSFT.O) about whether or not they would be harmed by the U.S. tech giant’s efforts to get clearance from the United Kingdom for its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O).
After Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) vetoed the largest gaming transaction in history, Microsoft offered to sell its cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment (UBIP.PA) last month.
Following Microsoft’s agreement in May to license famous Activision titles like “Call of Duty” to competing game-streaming services, the European Commission approved the transaction.
This approval was granted before Microsoft proposed the transaction with Ubisoft to assuage concerns from the U.K. regulator.
According to the people who spoke to Reuters, the E.U. antitrust authority has subsequently sent emails to corporations asking for input on the matter. According to the sources, the company has not yet begun an official inquiry, which suggests that it may be waiting for a ruling from the CMA before taking any action.
Other sources have said that a probe by the European Union is unlikely, noting the structure of Microsoft’s CMA plan to assure compliance with its E.U. remedies as the reason.
The Commission chose not to comment on the email. Still, it did reiterate that it was carefully watching events in the U.K. and evaluating any possible implications of its case.
