Last week it was announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the USA was investigating the recent purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft **. Apparently, this government entity has reasons to believe that this transaction could have negative consequences for both industry, and consumers.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO , consider that there is not really any problem and that the FTC would not really have any reason to intervene. As part of a recent interview with The Financial Times, The Executive said the following:
“At the end of the day, all this analysis must be done from a perspective on the category of which we are talking about, but what about the structure of the market? Even after this acquisition, we will continue to be in third place. This only demonstrates how fragmented these content creation platforms are. That is the fundamental category. Yes, we will be one of the great players in what is a highly fragmented place. “
Basically, Nadella said that even with the purchase of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft and Xbox could not be considered as a monopoly since they are still in third place of profits within the gaming industry, below Sony and tencent in second and first place respectively.
Editor’s note: Nadella has a point, but it is also said that the FTC has become a little stricter about its investigations. Nor do I think there is going to be any problem with this transaction, but maybe we should prepare ourselves in case the agreement between both companies prolongs for a little more than expected.
V ia: IGN