The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revived its challenge against Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This attempt comes after the FTC lost its case trying to halt the merger back in July. Federal Trade Commission released an order on September 26 and said that it is returning this matter to adjudication.
However, this attempt from the FTC may go in vain as there are doubts if the Trade Commission will be able to stop the acquisition with the deadline already set for October 18.
FTC Revives Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition Challenge
This new turn in this matter comes a few days after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued approval for Microsoft to go forward with the acquisition of Activision. The FTC is attempting to re-open this matter about the legitimacy of Microsoft‘s Activision acquisition deal.
Also Read: The CMA Has Provisionally Approved Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated on Tuesday that the commission is determined that this “matter be resolved fully and expeditiously.” As per BNN Bloomberg, this issue will be taken care of with the help of an in-house trial. The statement by FTC read,
“The Commission has determined that the public interest warrants that this matter be resolved fully and expeditiously. Therefore, the Commission is returning this matter to adjudication.”
It further stated,
“The evidentiary hearing in this proceeding shall commence twenty-one days after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues its opinion regarding the appeal of the district court decision on the requested preliminary injunction.”
The in-house hearing of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will begin 21 days after the United States Court of Appeals shares its opinion, and the case will be much stronger if it rules in favor of the FTC.
CMA Has Issued Preliminary Approval For Microsoft-Activision Deal
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently announced that the updated deal has important changes that address the previous concerns. The CMA was previously doubtful that the merger would harm competition in the cloud gaming arena.
The new deal will now see Microsoft sell its cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft for current and future Activision games over the next 15 years, in case the merger goes through.
Also Read: The Predicted Revenue of Each Bethesda Title Has Leaked
Even after FTC’s move both Microsoft and Activision are hopeful that the deal will go through smoothly. Activision spokesperson Joseph Christinat said that they are focused on closing the deal and it’s FTC’s decision how they want to use the limited taxpayer’s money.
Microsoft spokesperson Rebecca Dougherty also stated that they are anticipating to close the deal by October 18. She said that they are confident of the deal and it benefits gamers and competition both.
It’s only a matter of time now before it is known whether the deal goes through or not. What do you think about this new move from the FTC against Microsoft? Let us know in the comments!
Source: FTC
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