In plan to mollify regulators, company made concessions to flip rivals into allies.

The article discusses how major technology companies appease regulators to approve their major transactions by turning their rivals into allies. It cites as example the move by Microsoft's Satya Nadella to call rival Kenichiro Yoshida of Sony before advancing the former's plan to acquire video game publisher Activision Blizzard. In the deal, Microsoft needed to secure the approval of the British Competition and Markets Authority, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and the European Commission.