Microsoft boss changes tune after criticism of UK

BBC Online :
Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, has rowed back on criticism he made last year that the UK was “bad for business”.
Mr Smith made the comments after the competition watchdog initially blocked the tech giant’s planned takeover of the gaming giant Activision Blizzard.

He said people’s confidence in the UK had been “severely shaken”.

But he has now said the Competition and Markets Authority, which went on to approve the deal, was “tough and fair”.

“It pushed Microsoft to change the acquisition that we had proposed, for Activision Blizzard to spin out certain rights that the CMA was concerned about with respect to cloud gaming,” Mr Smith said in an interview with the BBC’s Monday Programme.

In April last year, the CMA blocked Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision over concerns it would reduce innovation and mean less choice for consumers in the fast-growing cloud gaming business.

Microsoft owns the Xbox gaming console while Activision Blizzard produces games including the popular Call of Duty series.

At the time of the original rejection, Mr Smith also suggested it made the European Union a more attractive place to do business.

It was a blow for the UK government which wants the country to become a tech powerhouse.

The regulator gave the deal the green light in October after Microsoft restructured its offer.

Mr Smith told the BBC: “I think the CMA vindicated its position but still created a pragmatic path forward for innovation and investment. I think that is good for everyone.”

However, the boss of the competition watchdog, Sarah Cardell, criticised Microsoft for its conduct, stating in October: “Businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA.”

She said: “Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work.

Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money.”

Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard – the largest takeover in the history of the gaming industry – was originally announced in January last year.

However, it proved controversial and received a mixed response from regulators around the world.