US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft's Activision deal at request of FTC
A district judge in San Francisco has granted a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) request to temporarily block Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, ahead of a hearing on June 22.
Judge Edward Davila ruled that a “preliminary injunction is warranted [to] preserve the FTC’s ability to obtain an effective permanent remedy” to its antitrust concerns. Microsoft and Activision have until June 16 to submit their opposition to the motion, while the FTC must respond by June 20.
An evidentiary hearing will be held on June 22 for the judge to hear oral arguments about whether the injunction should remain in force until the FTC's antitrust case is resolved. The ruling on the FTC's request for an injunction comes six months after the FTC filed its initial antitrust case against the acquisition, arguing that if the deal were to go ahead, Microsoft would have an “increased incentive to withhold or degrade Activision’s content in ways that substantially lessen competition — including competition on product quality, price, and innovation.”