Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision on hold in the US – Times of India

A federal judge in the United States has temporarily put Microsoft‘s acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard on hold. A hearing has been scheduled for next week.
On Tuesday, a California US district court judge ordered for the Microsoft Activision deal not to be closed until an “evidentiary hearing” on the FTC‘s request for a preliminary injunction. The hearing will take place on June 22-23 in San Francisco.
Without a court order, Microsoft could have completed the $69 billion deal by Friday.
A federal court will decide on the necessity of a preliminary injunction, which will last during the administrative review of the case, based on the upcoming June hearing.
The judge stated that the temporary restraining order issued on Tuesday is crucial to maintaining the status quo while the complaint is pending. This order will preserve the court’s ability to order effective relief if a preliminary injunction is required and ensure that the FTC can obtain an effective permanent remedy if it wins its pending administrative proceeding, which is scheduled to begin from August 2.
Microsoft and Activision must submit legal arguments opposing a preliminary injunction by June 16, and the FTC must reply on June 20.
The FTC has argued that if Microsoft were to gain control of Activision’s content, it would have the power and motivation to limit or diminish the quality, price, and innovation of Activision’s products, which would harm competition.
The federal regulator received a complaint due to media reports indicating the companies were considering closing the deal ‘imminently.’
In April, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority served a severe blow to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision by ordering it to be blocked. The regulator was concerned that Microsoft might make Activision’s games exclusive to its cloud gaming service. However, the EU cleared the deal last month, stating that Microsoft had addressed these concerns by allowing all European consumers who purchase a current or future.