Do they only get one shot with it? As in they have to fashion a proposal that will be accepted, because there is no discussion or back and forth for this?
If that is the case then I understand why they are taking their time. What’s 2 or 3 days in getting this right when they’ve spent months in the pursuit of this?
I mean the whole point of this surely is they’ve spent the last month in discussions to understand exactly what would be required…if it’s that critical to get it right and they don’t know for sure then how confident can we be that they have properly comprehended what is required?
I’m not confident in the CMA properly conveying what they’re concerned about. They’re playing a game here.
I’m at the point where I think they’ll still reject it and MS would need to close over the CMA.
I think the judge made it very clear they wouldn’t be tolerating any gamesmanship bullshit and they better be working to do this right and get it over the line if feasible.
Takes a while to find crayons a draw pretty pictures that the CMA will be able to understand. ( /s just in case)
Finalizing a deal to sell a cloud business that will make 0 money takes time
The delay is likely from coming up with an arrangement that works for them and for whoever is purchasing what they want to sell (rumored to be telecom EE), while ensuring that they are going to be OK with the letter of the CMA’s objections afterwards. I’m sure they’re doing their best.
Let’s not forget why this delay originally happened and it still pays to be weary of the CMA after what they pulled.
After checking Last of US on PC, I am sure they do not do it for pleasing us.
At no point in time, I expect CMA to say anything that would make them appear weak. And MS has no interest to contradict them.
MS must have an understanding of what is required to pass before agreed to pause the appear, they don’t need the CMA to crave in, they just need them to be constructive towards a solution.
I mean if they play a game here and block it again after all this, the damage to their reputation will be huge compared to them just keep the original block.
It is in CMA process to judge the proposal on its merits and not based on negociations. For the previous rounds, they dismissed the 10 year contracts as being not part of the deal (if you make contracts after proposal to smooth out the judges, it means you were not really ready to do it in the first time). UK and US are quite different in the way they handle the process. EU was also more about finding a common ground, whereas UK is cautious about anything not in the first proposal.
That is why MS is preparing carefully their proposition.
The Microsoft/ABK lawyer did say on Monday case hearing that they would have a proposal ready in 3 days time and that is today.
When a kitten thinks of itself as a lion.
https://twitter.com/IdleSloth84_/status/1682034710862774273?t=NwJuxeo5aHlleDeWcwCDQg&s=19
Are they baseing that headline strictly because a law professor claimed that MS may have realized it could lose the appeal? I haven’t seen any evidence to support that, nor do I think MS would have lost the appeal, I just don’t think either side wants to go through the process.
It’s just posturing, If they were really serious about showing teeth, they wouldn’t come back to the negotiating table. They are not immune to political pressure, simple as that, especially when the three largest economic powers in the world allowed the merger.
Technically four largest (USA, China, Japan and Germany-EU), I’m not sure where India stand?
There’s literally no reality where the deal doesn’t pass due to the CMA at this point, the due diligence has already been spent research alternatives - FTC’s case being demolished ensure that as reality. MS is simply playing by the book for future political capital, but if CMA has an April-level relapse, I don’t see a reality where MS doesn’t close 
Yeah, U.S., European Union(includes Germany, the 4th largest, and France the 6th), and China, which would constitute like 60 percent or more of the entire global economy, it also doesn’t include other economic powers like Japan, South Korea etc.
I just want this “formal” process to be extra expedite. So much time and resources had been wasted at the CMA