FTC suspends internal lawsuit over Microsoft-Activision deal
The Federal Trade Commission has formally suspended its administrative lawsuit regarding Microsoft's impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The move, which was first reported by Bloomberg, allows the agency and the companies to hold talks on a settlement for the jaw-dropping $68.7 billion merger.
The FTC's decision to put its case on hold is another major victory for Microsoft and Activision as they attempt to close the deal. The agency filed a lawsuit to block the deal in December and an evidentiary hearing in the case has been set for August 2. Last week he lost a legal bid to stop the companies from merging before the administrative trial begins in early August. The FTC appealed its loss in court.
“The FTC has not shown that it is likely to succeed in asserting that the combined company would likely withdraw Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content would materially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,” Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in a ruling last week. Microsoft has since signed a deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years if the merger goes through.
In a petition filed Tuesday, Microsoft and Activision urged the FTC to withdraw its case. FTC rules say the agency must withdraw its case after the companies made the request, since it was denied a preliminary injunction to stop them from merging. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft and Activision can now try to convince the FTC to agree to solutions that will resolve the agency's concerns about the deal's impact on competition in the gaming industry. Alternatively, they could persuade the FTC to drop its opposition to the merger altogether.
The FTC still has the option to hold its administrative lawsuit after the merger closes. However, it is rare for the agency to pursue an internal case after losing a battle in federal court.
The original closing deadline for the acquisition was Tuesday, although Microsoft and Activision extended their merger agreement until October 18 to give them "additional time to resolve remaining regulatory issues." They agreed that Microsoft would be liable for up to $4.5 billion in severance pay if the deal fell through, though both parties are determined to close things.
Microsoft and Activision still need to get approval from a UK regulator to complete the deal without resorting to workarounds to continue doing business in the country. The Competition and Markets Authority initially blocked the merger in April, but over the past week has signaled its willingness to resolve concerns over the p...
The Federal Trade Commission has formally suspended its administrative lawsuit regarding Microsoft's impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The move, which was first reported by Bloomberg, allows the agency and the companies to hold talks on a settlement for the jaw-dropping $68.7 billion merger.
The FTC's decision to put its case on hold is another major victory for Microsoft and Activision as they attempt to close the deal. The agency filed a lawsuit to block the deal in December and an evidentiary hearing in the case has been set for August 2. Last week he lost a legal bid to stop the companies from merging before the administrative trial begins in early August. The FTC appealed its loss in court.
“The FTC has not shown that it is likely to succeed in asserting that the combined company would likely withdraw Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content would materially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,” Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in a ruling last week. Microsoft has since signed a deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years if the merger goes through.
In a petition filed Tuesday, Microsoft and Activision urged the FTC to withdraw its case. FTC rules say the agency must withdraw its case after the companies made the request, since it was denied a preliminary injunction to stop them from merging. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft and Activision can now try to convince the FTC to agree to solutions that will resolve the agency's concerns about the deal's impact on competition in the gaming industry. Alternatively, they could persuade the FTC to drop its opposition to the merger altogether.
The FTC still has the option to hold its administrative lawsuit after the merger closes. However, it is rare for the agency to pursue an internal case after losing a battle in federal court.
The original closing deadline for the acquisition was Tuesday, although Microsoft and Activision extended their merger agreement until October 18 to give them "additional time to resolve remaining regulatory issues." They agreed that Microsoft would be liable for up to $4.5 billion in severance pay if the deal fell through, though both parties are determined to close things.
Microsoft and Activision still need to get approval from a UK regulator to complete the deal without resorting to workarounds to continue doing business in the country. The Competition and Markets Authority initially blocked the merger in April, but over the past week has signaled its willingness to resolve concerns over the p...
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