The plot thickens.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an injunction with a federal court to temporarily block Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
CNBC has cited a source close to the matter, and reports the FTC is blocking the acquisition from taking place before Microsoft’s 18 July merger deadline. The FTC sued to block the acquisition last year; its own internal administrative law judge will preside over a hearing scheduled for 2 August.
“We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court,” Microsoft president Brad Smith told Eurogamer. “We believe accelerating the legal process in the US will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market.”
This isn’t Microsoft’s only court appearance; it’s preparing to appeal a decision by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over its planned $69 billion USD acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
We’ll have more as this situation continues to develop.
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