The mountain of pushback against the largest acquisition in gaming history just got a fair bit steeper. On Monday, CNBC reported that the Federal Trade Commission is close to filing an injunction to block the $68.7 billion merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
The deal is nearing its July 18 deadline, and an injunction would halt the process while the agency is working on bringing its own ongoing legal complaints to the fore. The FTC, under the leadership of big tech merger opponent Lina Khan, had already sued to block the near-$69 billion acquisition. According to CNBC based on an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the agency has brought the case before an internal administrative law judge who is supposed to hear the case in August.
Essentially, the injunction would give the FTC time to marshall resources and bring its full legal weight against the deal. That initial internal judge decision could then be brought to the commission for a full vote. If it goes the FTC’s way, Microsoft could then appeal.
Gizmodo reached out to the FTC for comment, but we did not immediately hear back. We also reached out to Microsoft and Activision Blizzard for additional comments. Microsoft President Brad Smith told CNBC the company wouldn’t mind an injunction, as that would bring the case before a federal judge and expedite a decision.
The European Union has already granted its blessing to the merger, saying it accepted the concessions the companies made to facilitate cloud gaming across platforms outside Xbox. Still, the UK’s regulatory body overseeing mergers blocked the near-$69 billion acquisition, also citing issues with competition in the cloud gaming market. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are both appealing that decision, though a decision could take place after the acquisition deadline.
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Source: Gizmodo