(Bloomberg) -- The UK's antitrust agency agreed with Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc. to pause their ongoing London appeal over the $69 billion merger just minutes after a US court decision to move forward with the deal.
“We stand ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns set out in our final report,” a spokesperson from the Competition and Markets Authority said Tuesday.
Microsoft was heading to an appeal trial at the Competition Appeal Tribunal against the Competition and Markets Authority's decision to block the deal. The trial was due to kick off on July 28.
Read More: Microsoft Wins US Court Nod to Buy Activision in FTC Loss
“In order to be able to prioritize work on these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that a stay of litigation in the UK would be in the public interest and all parties have made a joint submission to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to this effect.”
Microsoft won approval from a US court to move forward with the deal in a blow to the US Federal Trade Commission, which was trying to block the largest ever gaming deal.
“After today's court decision in the US our focus now turns back to the UK,” said Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, confirming the application to put proceedings on hold. “While we ultimately disagree with the CMA's concerns, we are considering how the transaction might be modified in order to address those concerns in a way that is acceptable to the CMA.”
(Updates with comments from Microsoft president in final paragraph.)
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