The merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is being attacked by all possible legal means by the US government agency responsible for competition affairs, namely the Federal Trade Commission, that is, the FTC, which is abbreviated based on the English name of the organization.
According to the government body, the two parties with interest in the acquisition could announce the closure of the acquisition as early as Friday, despite the fact that the British competition authority has not granted permission for the merger, and the US competition authority is investigating the matter. Lawsuit with no suspension of effect in accordance with the local legal order, that $ 69 billion acquisition impact on the video game business.
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The FTC originally launched an internal legal process last December regarding the acquisition agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the first hearing of which by the organization was scheduled for the beginning of August.
It seems that the US government, which is watching similar huge deals with an increasingly critical eye, wants to avoid signing the sale and purchase agreement before the final decision of the Federal Trade Commission, so the relevant authority requested a temporary restraining order for two weeks, as well as an order prohibiting the merger at the same time from the Federal Court.
At the same time, the specialized authority is taking a serious gamble, because if the court rejects the requests, the companies involved in the acquisition will also have an advantage in the FTC’s own proceedings, and that could also speed up the entire legal process — as stated by Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief attorney. on Twitter.
According to experts, it will not be easy for the organization in court, since Microsoft’s voluntary commitments have so far detoxified most of those who oppose the acquisition. The European Union’s competition law body decided in May not to stand in the parties’ way and allow the largest technology acquisition of the decade to pass, largely because of these voluntary undertakings.
