Following the cancellation of Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision/Blizzard, the companies have pledged to appeal to the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) committee. And now, Activision has taken its first big step by recruiting a lawyer who previously represented the British Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II in the case on appeal.
As reported by Florian Muller, legal counsel — formally titled David Pannick KC (King’s Council) — represents Activision/Blizzard’s appeal to the Court of Competition Appeals (CAT). Microsoft also plans to pursue an appeal in parallel with the UK attorney handling the case, Daniel Beard KC.
The news comes two full weeks after Microsoft’s plans to acquire various Activision/Blizzard studios and their IP were abruptly and in a surprising way. Prior to CMA’s decision, the acquisition attracted attention in his year-long survey from global agencies following the January 2022 announcement.
David Panic. Photo credit: Blackstone Chambers.
Pannick has been a legal attorney for decades and is considered one of the most prominent figures in British law. Previously, Panic took on clients such as Boris His Johnson during the infamous “partygate” scandal during the COVID-19 pandemic, and handled the case of Queen Elizabeth II in his later years. Currently, General Counsel works for the Blackstone Chamber of Commerce, which specializes in commercial and government matters. The move to bring his Pannick from Activision indicates that this appeal will likely lead to a longer period of discourse and discussion for the foreseeable future.
‘Disappointing decision’
Decision to end large-scale acquisition CMA finds Microsoft’s market dominance in cloud computing and addition of Activision/Blizzard and its vast library of popular games lead to unfair advantage over competitors It was the result of Following the announcement from the CMA, Activision/Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick expressed his outrage at the decision, saying the UK was “clearly out of business”.
Recently, Xbox Game Studios CEO Phil Spencer said in an interview with Kinda Funny’s XCast that it was a “disappointing” decision.
preliminary report #ActivisionBlizzard $ATVI hired a very high-profile British lawyer to @CATTribunal Appeal of @CMAgovUK Merger blocking decision:
Lord David Pannick KC (KC = King’s Counsel)His clients, among others,
– Queen Elizabeth II,
-Ex-Prime…— Florian Muller (@FOSSpatents) May 9, 2023
“The CMA’s decision is disappointing,” he said. “I’ve been talking to that group for a year. It’s a nascent market and this content could somehow prevent others from competing in that market.”
Appeals from both Activision/Blizzard and Microsoft will be heard by the CAT to determine whether the CMA’s decision to cancel the acquisition was lawful. Previously, the CMA filed a motion against his Meta company that he must sell his Giphy, an image/social media site, but the company lost the case.
For more information on the CMA’s decision to call off the acquisition, be sure to read our explanation detailing what we learned. Be sure to stick to IGN as more details emerge.
Alessandro Fillari is a contributing writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and his Instagram @afillari.
