Business | Fragged

Britain shoots down Microsoft’s $69bn Activision deal

The ruling will reverberate worldwide

FILE - Visitors passing an advertisement for the video game 'Call of Duty' at the Gamescom fair for computer games in Cologne, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017. British regulators have blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy videogame maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Attack of the regulatorsImage: AP

“How does a uk court block one American company from buying another American company?” asks a gamer in an online forum, where the chat is more often about high scores than competition law. “We had a war about this, and being independent, can do as we damn well please.”

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Fragged”

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