US joins UK in attempting to derail Microsoft’s Activision agreement
Microsoft is facing difficulties regarding the approval of its Activision deal. The situation is not improving rather it is becoming worse with every passing day. As of now, a report by BBC indicates that the US is ready to take some measures in order to block this deal.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, the deal must be blocked. The department has shown concerns regarding the violation of antitrust law. FTC is in opposition to this deal and is taking every required step to prevent this deal. The stance of the US regulators has been previously clarified. They don’t deem the deal to be good for the industry. Back in December 2022, the FTC attempted to block the deal. The FTC requested a judge to halt the deal on the grounds that it would go against antitrust regulations.
Currently, the FTC is asking a US federal district court for a preliminary injunction as well as a restraining order. In essence, this would allow the FTC’s lawsuit from its initial filing in December to be resolved. The case proceedings will supposedly begin in August. However, the FTC was concerned about Microsoft closing the deal by July 18. For this reason, it has received restraining orders that would delay the agreement for a couple of days. The preliminary ban would further postpone the closure of the deal until the August case’s conclusion.
US regulatory authorities want the Microsoft-Activision merger to be abandoned
According to Microsoft, the Activision Blizzard deal is great for players. It offers them plenty of games on their particular devices. In this perspective, Sony has shown a concern that indicates that Microsoft might limit famous franchises like Call of Duty to certain devices. Sony concerns that it might not be available on PlayStation. However, the company has responded to Sony’s concerns.
US regulators appear to share Sony’s concerns. The application for the restraining order and injunction comes in response to the UK CMA’s earlier-this-year blockage of the deal. While the EU later gave the agreement its approval.
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