Regulatory Hurdles: FTC Puts Up a Fight to Slow Down Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Purchase

The “soap opera” of Microsoft and the acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues now in the Americas. The United States Federal Trade Commission, known as the FTC, has submitted a request to a U.S. court urging to prevent Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard until a major case is resolved, which could potentially block the merger.

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This attempt to further delay the acquisition of Activision comes six months after the FTC filed a lawsuit to block the merger, with a resolution expected later in the summer. Now, the independent U.S. agency is requesting a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction before a federal court.

“Both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction are necessary because Microsoft and Activision have stated that they can consummate the proposed acquisition at any time,” states the FTC’s request.

The timing of this request is not coincidental. Microsoft has announced a collaboration with Nvidia that will add all Game Pass games to the catalog of GeForce Now, Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, significantly paving the way to unlocking the purchase of Activision Blizzard in the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, last month European regulators gave their approval for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which means the company could close the deal if there were no legal injunction preventing it. This may have motivated the FTC to try and delay the acquisition as much as possible until the case that would either block or greenlight the purchase in the United States is resolved on August 2nd.

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Contrary to what one might think, the FTC’s action has been well received by both Brad Smith, the Vice President and President of Microsoft, and Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard. They view the acceleration of the legal process in the country as a positive development.

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