Microsoft wins FTC case in battle to acquire Activision Blizzard
Microsoft has scored a major win in pursuit to acquire Activision Blizzard.
Updated on July 11, 2023 at 8:25 a.m. PT: Xbox head Phil Spencer provided the following statement on Twitter following the court ruling:
The rest of the article remains as originally published.
For the last month or so, Microsoft and the FTC have been facing off in court over the former’s bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest publishers in the gaming industry. The FTC expressed anti-competitive concerns around the deal, and the trial saw the declassification of internal email from execs at Microsoft, Sony, and various other players in the industry. However, the FTC’s case wasn’t enough to stop the deal, as the court has ruled in favor of Microsoft.
News of Microsoft’s win over the FTC came in the late morning hours as journalists covering the case in-person heard the verdict. Specifically, Bloomberg’s Cecilia D'Anastasio was one of the first to break the news on Twitter. The decision came from Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley at the San Francisco court that the trial was being held. While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard denied to comment on the news, the FTC's Douglas Farrar provided Bloomberg with the following statement:
Breaking: Microsoft wins US court case to buy Activision Blizzard in loss for FTC. Story incoming.
— Cecilia D'Anastasio (@cecianasta) July 11, 2023
While this is a major win for Microsoft, it's worth noting that not all is said and done in Microsoft's pursuit to acquire Activision Blizzard. The CMA, the EU's regulatory body, is still objecting to the deal and will also be doing everything in its power to stop it from going through.
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replyDonovan Erskine posted a new article, Microsoft wins FTC case in battle to acquire Activision Blizzard
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They're on appeal with the CMA and their case was partly based around the FTC not allowing the acquisition, so MS might be more confident they're going to win that now.
MS could still close the deal and then deal with the CMA afterwards. The CMA appeal is on the 24th July. But pretty complicated if they lose and CMA still want to block the deal. -
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Previously the FTC has abandoned cases where it didn't win a preliminary injunction
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Has any big merger been successfully blocked? I can't think of one. Sure the FTC wrings its hands and we go through some trials but it seems like the corpos win at the end of the day. Maybe the failures just don't make the news.
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"For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content."
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they promised it will be on playstation for 10 yrs, and cloud gaming when kotick was never gonna put it on the cloud
honestly though, doubt it ever becomes exclusive, multiplayer games need a playerbase to excel, losing half your base would make games less fun and more stomps
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It doesn't entirely mean that the FTC's case is lost, but not a good sign for anti-trust efforts going forward. Without new anti-trust legislation in the near future we're going to descend into mega-corp hell.
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So I am guessing the deal will now close this week since the 18th is the date that the deal was supposed to close by without Microsoft having to pay Activision a few billion or re-negotiate.
For England my guess is that if Microsoft can't get the CMA to change it's opinion that ActivisionBlizzardKing games will be sold by a 3rd party and not Microsoft within England.-
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Aren't the real FTC hearings also coming up next month?
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Welp, CMA pussied out
https://twitter.com/jordannovet/status/1678791807629418498-
definitely looking to save face now for political points. they know they cant stop this deal
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With the EU and US both moving along they're pretty much out on a limb.
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And now confirmed that the CMA is pausing ots action to negotiate with MS
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-and-uk-regulators-agree-to-pause-legal-fight-to-negotiate-activision-acquisition-165856989.html?src=rss -
Yo, Donovan, the CMA regulates the UK, not the EU.
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Lol FTC still playing around
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-11/ftc-leaning-toward-appealing-microsoft-activision-loss
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