FTC Sues Microsoft to Block Activision Blizzard Acquisition

pcmag.com:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Microsoft in order to block its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

As AP reports(Opens in a new window), a temporary restraining order and injunction were filed by the FTC(Opens in a new window) against Microsoft in a San Francisco federal court yesterday. It's the second time the FTC has taken legal action to block the deal, with the first being through an in-house administrative law judge last year.

The FTC decided to block Microsoft's acquisition because it views the deal as detrimental to consumer choice and competition in the market. As to why a restraining order has also been requested the FTC explained in a statement,

"Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have represented in the past that they cannot close their deal due to antitrust reviews of the transaction in other jurisdictions ... But Microsoft and Activision have not provided assurances that they will maintain that position. In light of that, and public reporting that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are considering closing their deal imminently, we have filed a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent them from closing while review continues."

In response, Microsoft president Brad Smith said, "We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court ... We believe accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market." Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told employees this is a "positive development" because it should speed up the process of completing the deal.

Back in April, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to block the deal because it found Microsoft already controls an estimated 60-70% of global cloud