FTC Files Injunction Looking to Block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Deal - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 12 June 2023 / 2,579 Views
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following a report earlier today has filed its application for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from a US federal district court in an attempt to block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition before the deal's deadline on July 18.
"Both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction are necessary because Microsoft and Activision have represented that they may consummate the proposed acquisition at any time," reads the FTC complaint.
The FTC added, "Press reports began circulating suggesting that Defendants were seriously contemplating closing the Proposed Acquisition despite the pending administrative litigation and the CMA Orders."
The US judge will need to decide on issuing a temporary restraining order to stop Microsoft from closing the deal for two weeks, as well as a preliminary injunction that would stop Microsoft from closing until the result of the FTC's legal challenge against the deal.
The deal has been approved in South Korea, China, the European Union, Ukraine, South Africa, Japan, Chile, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia.
Microsoft's deal is facing a block in the UK, which the two companies are appealing. A case management conference attended by Microsoft and the UK regulator, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), was recently held and Justice Marcus Smith scheduled the hearings for Microsoft's appeal to start July 24 and is expected to last upwards of 10 days.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
Well, now they're actually trying to stop it.
Can’t wait to hear Bobby and MSFT announce that the US is closed for business and they plan to move to a lawless nation.
In your wildest dreams.
The United States is far and away the largest attractor of Venture Capital for tech start ups. Microsoft is an American company as is Activision Blizzard, so yeah... they obviously aren't going to say that when it's completely false. The UK is barely a blimp on the radar for attracting tech companies.
This is going to be fun to watch.
