On Thursday, Microsoft declined as Canada’s Department of Justice said that its Activision Blizzard acquisition deal can lessen competition.
Its stock price went down by -0.24% to $335.05 per share on June 29. Likewise, it is expected to drop by -0.01% to $335.03 apiece in the upcoming session.
The department mentioned discussing with both companies’ lawyers and said the deal would weaken competitiveness. It would apply to gaming consoles, multigame subscription services, and cloud gaming.
Moreover, the US Federal Trade Commission requested a judge to temporarily pause the suggested transaction for assessment. It closed the arguments in the proceeding, set later on Thursday.
Also, Microsoft pushed for a decision in the court before the date of termination of the deal. A ruling could be set as early as the following week.
Furthermore, the company said that it was discussing with antitrust officers to deal with the issues. According to its spokesperson, it received notice from Canada that it would keep monitoring its Activision Blizzard acquisition.
In addition, its plan to acquire the Call of Duty videogame maker also faces criticism from rival British authorities.
On the other hand, government lawyers were asking why the issue was a big deal. They were also pressed on the argument’s data.
Bing and Edge Get Microsoft AI Shopping Tools
This week, Microsoft announced that it is folding new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping tools in Bing and Edge.
In February, it unveiled Bing search, which ChatGPT powers, was called an AI-powered co-pilot for the web. It added a chat window wherein users can be helped with things such as making shopping lists or summarizing PDFs.
The search engine will use AI to generate buying guides customized based on your shopping-related searches. These buying guides are accessible in Bing Chat or the Edge sidebar.
Soon, they will be available to other markets, but it is now open in the US. On the other hand, the Edge buying guides would start rolling out globally.
