If Microsoft had reason to celebrate and believe in the merger with Activision after approval in the European Union, the situation may change at home. According to Reuters, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. trade body equivalent to our CADE, will block the Microsoft purchase agreement.
The information comes from a “source familiar with the trial” — probably someone from the FTC itself. According to this source, the regulatory body will ask for an injunction to block the purchase. That is, the FTC will not yet finalize its judgment on whether or not to approve the deal — which was favorable in the European Union and contrary in the United Kingdom.
FTC to file warrant in coming hours
The same source told Reuters that the Federal Trade Commission is expected to file the warrant blocking the purchase in the coming hours. The lawsuit could be filed in the Northern District of California. That would give the FTC more time to publish the outcome of its investigation into the acquisition — the Commission will have to release results on Aug. 2.
However, a delay in the antitrust body’s opinion would be unfortunate for Microsoft. The deadline for finalizing the deal is July 18. With this injunction, the FTC can extend that date and bring problems to the company, which would have to return to the “negotiating table.”
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, told Reuters the company was willing to present the case in federal court. To date, Activision has not commented on the case.
In December 2022, the FTC also asked a federal court to block the deal. In the request, the agency said that Microsoft had broken promises made to the European Commission to release Activision’s games to Nintendo and Sony.
Microsoft has filed an appeal in the UK
In addition to the FTC, Microsoft’s “stone in the road” is the U.K.’s Competition and Market Authority. The British body was against the Activision acquisition deal. However, the company that owns Xbox and Windows has appealed the decision and is awaiting a new trial. The appeal has no deadline to be judged.
