Report: The FTC will be reviewing Microsoft's mammoth Activision Blizzard deal
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be handling the U.S. antitrust review of Microsoft's staggering Activision Blizzard acquisition, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The Xbox maker agreed to purchase Activision Blizzard, the company behind major franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, for $68.7 billion last month.
The FTC and Department of Justice review most large transactions with the potential to affect commerce in the United States, conducting investigations designed to prevent deals that will "substantially lessen competition."
The two bodies share jurisdiction over merger review, with transactions being assigned to one agency on a case-by-case basis. As noted by Bloomberg, the FTC is viewed as the more aggressive of the two after vowing to expand antitrust enforcement and regulation in 2021.
The FTC has already sued to block two major tech takeovers including Nvida's proposed purchase of Arm and Lockheed Martin's deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Microsoft declined to comment on the matter when approached by Bloomberg.
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