After the initial shock of Tuesday's news that Microsoft and the UK's antitrust watchdog are back at the negotiating table on the software giant's $75bn takeover of Activision Blizzard, everyone is trying to figure out what sort of deal they can reach.
Crucial will be an off-ramp for the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to save face after it blocked the mega-deal in April, drawing the ire of Activision chief executive Bobby Kotick, who said the initial CMA decision meant the UK was "closed for business".
There are no easy answers for what comes next as the clock ticks down on Microsoft's attempt to push further into the gaming market.
The CMA's new posture — which came just hours after a judge in California rejected the US Federal Trade Commission's request to block the deal — was seen by some critics as a way to save face. "Competition lawyers were just astounded," said one lawyer. "The fact that it followed so fast on the heels of the US [ruling] . . . feels like the CMA had the courage of its convictions until yesterday."
UK regulators may now be incentivised to take what they can get given that Brussels cleared the deal in May.
Allies of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and Hunt insisted that no pressure was applied on the CMA to shift its stance on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
"The CMA needs to tread a very careful line here between seeming reasonable and seeming weak," said Tom Smith, a former CMA lawyer now at Geradin Partners.