Microsoft said to discuss remedies with UK regulator over Activision deal
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After the U.K.'s antitrust regulatory agency provisionally ruled that Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) proposed $69B deal to buy Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) would cause a "substantial lessening of competition," the U.S. tech giant has reportedly met with the agency to discuss proposals to allow the deal to go through. 
Lawyers for Microsoft (MSFT) met with the Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday to discuss the provisional findings and see if proposed remedies would be feasible, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The news outlet added that lawyers from Activision (ATVI) met separately with the CMA on Wednesday while Sony (NYSE:SONY), the deal's chief opponent, is slated to meet with the agency later.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Activision (ATVI) shares were fractionally higher in premarket trading on Thursday.
The CMA has previously suggested remedies for the deal, including selling off Call of Duty or potentially blocking the deal entirely. The agency has also said it would consider other remedies, though.
Last month, Microsoft President Brad Smith said selling Call of Duty would not be a remedy Microsoft (MSFT) would consider. "We donât think itâs feasible or realistic to think that one game or one slice of this company can be carved out and separated from the rest," Smith said.
Lawyers for both Microsoft (MSFT) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) met with European Union regulators last month over whether the deal presents too many anticompetitive concerns.
The Microsoft (MSFT)-Activision (ATVI) deal has come under intense scrutiny across the globe, including in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission.
Brazil approved the transaction in October while Chinese game developers were said to give positive feedback on the deal last month. One third-party in China expressed concern about the deal, Seeking Alpha previously reported.
Microsoft (MSFT) recently signed deals with Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) and Nvidia (NVDA) to bring games to their respective platforms, including Call of Duty, opening up the popular game to more than 150M new players.
Last month, Morgan Stanley said investors should buy Activision (ATVI) as it could become an activist target if the Microsoft (MSFT) deal goes awry.