Microsoft Corp.’s once seemingly doomed $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard Inc. gained more momentum on Monday after Britain’s antitrust appeals court paved the way for the companies to thrash out alternatives to a UK veto.
At a hearing in London on Monday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal said a case into the UK regulator’s proposed ban on the deal can be paused after last week’s unprecedented move to open up fresh talks on remedies.
Both the Competition and Markets Authority and Microsoft had sought to suspend the case, overtaken by the CMA’s shock announcement last week that it was open to negotiations on a new remedy to allay its earlier concerns.
Read More: Microsoft Holds ‘Productive’ Talks in Bid to Clear UK Hurdle
This came on the back of a crushing court defeat by the US’s Federal Trade Commission, which also sought to block the takeover.
