Despite UK ruling, Microsoft/Activision merger might not be dead just yet

Enlarge / Is the Microsoft/Activision deal still "pining for the fjords"? Or has it "ceased to be"? (If you don't get this reference, what is is like to be young?) (credit: Python (Monty) Pictures | BBC)

Wednesday's decision by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block Microsoft's purchase of Activision may seem to be a fatal blow for the $69 billion deal. But Microsoft and Activision say they still see a path forward for their proposed merger, even if it's now a longer road than anticipated.

An unappealing appeals process

Bloomberg reports that in an all-hands meeting for the gaming division Thursday, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said Microsoft's interest in the deal "hasn't wavered" in the wake of the UK's decision. Spencer reportedly still sees a way forward for the deal despite acknowledging that the UK decision will "slow the approval process."

Though the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) release was the regulator's final report on the proposed merger, that doesn't necessarily represent the UK government's absolute final say on the deal. The CMA decision can be appealed to the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), and both Microsoft and Activision instantly signaled their intent to do so in statements following the report's release on Wednesday.