Photo Courtesy: Engadget
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is planning to seek an emergency court order on Monday to block Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard in a $75 billion deal, according to those familiar with the matter. The filing of the appeal, which is not available to the public as of yet, would ask the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for a temporary restraining order which would keep the companies from completing the acquisition, while the FTC’s in-house court goes over the deal.
The deal, if completed, would make Microsoft the world’s third largest video game publisher, right after Sony and Tencent. The acquisition would give Microsoft ownership of notable video game franchises such as “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch”.
The original plans to acquire Activision were announced by Microsoft in January 2022, with the deal originally valued at $69 billion. Later on in December, the FTC would sue to block to deal, due to the reasoning that it would give Microsoft control over consumers who do not own their subscription services or hardware to access their games. The FTC claims that Microsoft would either raise prices for non-Microsoft consumers or cut off access entirely to incentivize consumers to purchase Microsoft hardware and/or services to access Activision Blizzard games.
The deal has already been approved in many other regions, most notably the European Union and China. However, other countries such as the U.K.’s Competitions and Markets Authority have joined the FTC in blocking the deal.
“We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court,” says Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith in a statement. “We believe accelerating the legal process in the U.S. will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market.”
Photo Courtesy: Windows Central
A trial is scheduled to begin in early August where a judge will determine whether or not an injunction by the FTC is necessary.
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