news/EA/2023.02.21/Microsoft's president to push Activision deal at EU hearing; Google, Nvidia also presen...txt

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Microsoft
President Brad Smith on Tuesday will seek to convince EU
antitrust regulators at a closed hearing that the U.S. software
giant's $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision
Blizzard will boost competition.Smith will lead a delegation of 18 senior executives,
including Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Officer Phil Spencer,
while Activision will be represented by its CEO Robert Kotick, a
European Commission document seen by Reuters showed.The hearing will allow Xbox maker Microsoft to gauge the
mood among senior EU and national competition officials and
European Commission lawyers ahead of the submission of remedies
to address antitrust concerns."I think we will make clear that our acquisition of
Activision Blizzard will bring more games to more people on more
devices and platforms than ever before," Smith told reporters on
his way to the hearing.Microsoft was willing to address concerns with "Call of
Duty" licensing offers similar to the 10-year deal with Nintendo
and regulatory undertakings, Smith added, without
providing any further details.Microsoft announced the Activision acquisition in January
last year to take on leaders Tencent and Sony
, but has run into regulatory headwinds in Europe,
Britain and the United States.Sony, which wants the deal to be blocked, sent its gaming
chief Jim Ryan.Alphabet's Google and chip designer and computing
firm Nvidia Corp, which has a gaming business, also
took part in the hearing."The European Commission asked for our views in the course
of their inquiries into this issue. We will continue to
cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views
are considered," a Google spokesperson said.Nvidia declined to comment. The European Games Developer
Federation, which has said the deal will allow Microsoft to
challenge Apple, Google and Tencent, is one of the
participants.Video game distributor Valve, video game publisher
Electronic Arts and the German competition watchdog and
its peers in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France,
Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden will also be taking part in
the event.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Chris Reese and Shounak
Dasgupta)