UK regulator sets March deadline to rule on Microsoft's planned Activision deal
Rich Polk


The UK's antitrust regulator set a deadline of March 1 to decide on Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI).
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority disclosed an administrative timetable for its phase 2 review of the transaction, according to a copy of the timetable from the agency's website. The agency plans to provide its provisional findings on the deal in January.

The latest update comes after the UK antitrust watchdog last month confirmed it's taking a deeper look at the combination after Microsoft (MSFT) failed to assuage concerns about potential anticompetitive effects. Microsoft on Friday filed with the European Commission for the Activision (ATVI) deal and the authority set a provisional deadline of Nov. 8 to make an initial decision on the combination.
On Friday Dealreporter also published an item that Sony (SONY) is said to have met with the EC last month to discuss its concerns about the ATVI/MSFT deal. Google (GOOGL) is also said to have worries about the deal and has voiced it concerns to regulators.