It has been revealed that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has resumed its fight against Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision, after the trade watchdog lost a court case in July in an attempt to stop the merger.
Such as BNN Bloomberg reports, the matter will be handled through an internal lawsuit. However, with the takeover deadline set for October 18, there are questions about whether the challenge could actually block the deal before that date.
The FTC’s Order Returning Matter to Adjudication, which was published on the FTC’s website on Tuesday, September 26 states: “The Commission has determined that the public interest justifies a full and speedy resolution of this matter. The Commission therefore refers this case back to the courts.
“The evidentiary hearing in this proceeding will begin twenty-one days after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues its opinion on the appeal of the district court’s decision on the requested preliminary injunction.”
Translated from legal terms, this means that the FTC will try to reopen the discussion about the legitimacy of Microsoft’s acquisition plans – a case that will become all the stronger if the Court of Appeals rules in its favor.
This development comes just a week after it was announced that the UK competition regulator Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), had granted preliminary approval of Microsoft’s updated Activision merger deal, which will see Microsoft sell the cloud streaming rights for current and new Activision games (released over the next 15 years) to Ubisoft if the deal goes through.
The CMA said the updated deal “makes significant changes that substantially address the concerns it raised in relation to the original transaction”, having initially expressed concerns that the merger could undermine competition in cloud gaming in Britain harm.
In a statement released at the time, said said Activision Blizzard: “The CMA’s preliminary approval is great news for our future at Microsoft. We are pleased that the CMA has responded positively to the solutions Microsoft has proposed, and we look forward to working with Microsoft to complete the regulatory review process.”
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