Microsoft’s vice chair and president has slammed the UK competition watchdog’s decision to block the software company’s 68.7 billion dollar (£55 billion) takeover of gaming firm Activision Blizzard, calling it a “bad day for Britain”.
Brad Smith said the UK regulatory environment compared unfavourably with the EU and warned the “English Channel has never seemed wider”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was “very disappointed” at the move and that it was “probably the darkest day” in its 40-year history in the UK.
“There’s a clear message here. The European Union is a more attractive place to start a business if you want some day to sell it than the United Kingdom,” he said.
Reacting to the news, Nigel Farage said it was a damning indictment of our “high tax, excess regulation, globalist government”.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has defended its decision to block Microsoft’s deal for Activision and said the UK was “absolutely open for business”.
This is a devastating comment from Microsoft. Our high tax, excess regulation, globalist government are a disaster for businesses. https://t.co/Nrift3WHzk
