The soap opera continues. The US regulator, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has appealed against the decision to allow Microsoft to proceed with its $69 billion (£53 billion) purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard.
Earlier this week, the FTC’s request to block the acquisition was rejected by a district judge in San Francisco. The tech giant’s deal to buy the Call of Duty maker would be the biggest of its kind in gaming industry history. Microsoft plans to fight the regulator’s appeal.
“We are disappointed that the FTC continues to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case, and we will oppose further efforts to delay the ability to move forward,” the company’s chairman, Brad Smith, said in a statement.
The FTC claimed the deal would hurt gamers and reduce competition by giving Xbox maker Microsoft the power to deny rivals access to Activision games, and sought an emergency ruling to block the deal while it contested the takeover.
Last Tuesday (11), US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said she did not think the FTC would win the case.
“The regulator has not shown that the combined company is likely to pull Call of Duty from the Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,” Scott said.
The US decision is the strongest indicator so far that the Microsoft buyout is likely to go through. Also this week, Britain’s competition watchdog appeared to ease its opposition to the deal.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was the first regulator in the world to block Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision. The company feared the deal would curb innovation and leave players with fewer options. But yesterday (12), the CMA reconsidered its position, declaring that it was ready to evaluate any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction.
“Microsoft and Activision have indicated that they are considering how the transaction might be modified, and CMA is prepared to engage with them on that basis,” he added.
The deal between Microsoft and Activision, due to close later this month, has divided global vigilantes. European Union regulators approved the deal, saying Microsoft had addressed their concerns about competition issues.
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