American video game company Activision Blizzard has instructed Lord David Pannick KC, of Blackstone Chambers, to lead its appeal against the U.K.’s competition regulator after it blocked Activision’s $75bn acquisition by Microsoft.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had last month halted the deal due to concerns it would “alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for U.K. gamers over the years to come”.