A federal court is as over the Microsoft / Activision Blizzard acquisition as much as we all are and has issued a restraining order temporarily putting a hold on the $68.7 billion deal.
The restraining order was issued yesterday after the FTC filed a preliminary injunction against the Activision deal on Monday. The FTC filing is just the latest development in several events holding up the acquisition over the last few months.
Since the acquisition was first announced in 2020, Microsoft has been on the chopping block, with regulators and rival companies raising concerns. In December, the FTC announced its intention to sue Microsoft over the deal.
However, all was quiet until the UK regulator CMA blocked the deal. Now the FTC has proceeded to file a preliminary injunction request, a request that the federal court has accepted.
As things stand now, Microsoft and Activision won’t be able to complete the acquisition until after 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the fifth business day after the court rules on the FTC’s request. There are also two court dates set for the 22nd and 23rd of June for the evidentiary hearing on the preliminary injunction.
This means that it is improbable that the Microsoft and Activision deal will be able to close before the 18th of July deadline. If Microsoft fails to renegotiate an extension on this, the company will owe Activision Blizzard a $3 billion breakup fee.
Throughout this all, Microsoft seems unfazed and has offered a surprisingly favourable response to everything, with the company’s President, Brad Smith, stating that the decision-making process would now be accelerated in a way that benefits everyone.
Previously Microsoft had also indicated that there was a world where they would proceed with the acquisition even without the FTC’s approval.
But what do you think about this whole mess? Let us know in the comments.