Judge Issues Restraining Order and Injunction Delaying Microsoft Activision Deal For Now

mmorpg.com:

Days after filing a lawsuit to block any sudden closure of Microsoft's  proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the US Federal Trade Commission has successfully blocked the deal–for now.

While the FTC requested both the restraining order and a preliminary injunction, the court is still reviewing the injunction but has already agreed to a restraining order--under specific terms.

According to the order, the court decided that “Microsoft and Activision shall not close or consummate their proposed transaction or a substantially similar transaction until after 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the fifth business day after the court rules on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction…or a date set by the Court, whichever is later”.

This is not a decision on the case as a whole or the pending deal, but it does give the FTC to buy some time while the court determines whether the injunction should also be granted. Microsoft and Activision will get a chance to submit a brief opposing the request for an injunction, and the FTC will be able to submit its response. The next hearing dates will be June 22nd and 23rd regardingthe request for an injunction.  

A Microsoft spokesperson, David Cuddy, issued a statement in response to The Verge saying that, “A temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the Court, which is moving swiftly”.

If the court eventually does grant the injunction, this means that the FTC would be able to follow through with making its complete legal case before the deal could be closed. If the injunction is not granted, this could mean the deal moves fast towards completion.

Legally, the deal is supposed to close by July 18th, but setbacks and challenges have come up. The two