The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, harshly criticized the United Kingdom in an interview with the BBC after yesterday the Competition Authority (Cma) blocked the merger between the Redmond giant and Activision Blizzard, inflicting a possible blow thanks to the long-awaited $69 billion marriage between the two American companies.
"The European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the UK," the top manager told the public broadcaster.
According to Smith, the CMA's decision was "bad for Britain" and marked Microsoft's "darkest day" in its four decades of business in the country.
Already yesterday the US giant had expressed itself in very harsh terms, criticizing the authority's decision and defining it "irrational" with the promise to appeal.
Washington and Brussels, which have already expressed strong doubts about the operation and have yet to comment on the matter, are looking closely at the British stop.
Among other things, according to the Cma, London's 'no' is already enough to stop the merger given the existing links between the various markets.