LONDON—The U.K’s antitrust agency opened probes into Microsoft proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard and into Amazon Inc.’s business practices, solidifying the U.K. as a new regulatory power that Silicon Valley must reckon with.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Wednesday that it was investigating whether Microsoft’s $75 billion bid for Activision, the videogame giant behind “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft,” would reduce competition in Britain. The probe follows a similar investigation in the U.S. from the Federal Trade Commission.
