FTC Officially Withdraws Challenge to Block Microsoft-Activision Acquisition

FTC had been pursuing two different approaches to challenge the proposed acquisition, attempted to obtain a preliminary injunction to halt the transaction, and sought a pause on the deal from an appeals court.

Withdrawing Challenge to Block Acquisition

The Federal Trade Commission officially decided to drop the agency's case aimed to prevent Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of the game maker Activision. According to a report from Reuters, this decision came after two requests from the agency failed to achieve its purposes.

Two days after the companies requested the FTC to withdraw the case, the agency filed a notice on Thursday, announcing the suspension of the administrative challenge that was originally scheduled for trial in August before an in-house judge.

As the administrative case has now been put on hold, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft and Activision have the opportunity to approach the FTC's commissioners to explore the possibility of reaching a settlement or convincing them to abandon their opposition to the deal entirely.

Close to Victory

Microsoft and Activision are so close to achieving a significant victory in their pursuit of closing the largest-ever gaming deal, even amidst regulatory challenges in both the US and the UK as this decision opens the door to potential settlement talks between the agency and the companies.

As of the moment, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard still have not completed the acquisition yet. The companies decided to extend their merger agreement to October 18 to allow additional time for negotiations with UK competition enforcers who have expressed opposition to the deal.

The FTC also has the option to re-submit the administrative challenge, while simultaneously, Microsoft is engaging in negotiations with the UK's CMA. The Verge reported that there are also indications that the process may not be prolonged, as Xbox head Phil Spencer stated to employees that they are optimistic about successfully finalizing the acquisition.

The European Union formally approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard last May, as proposed in 2022. This signifies that Microsoft is now close to completing the acquisition of the game's developer and publisher.

However, a significant hurdle remains, as the UK's final decision on the matter is yet to be disclosed. The merger between Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard has been in progress for a considerable time, but it faced opposition from various parties when the deal was initially announced.

As per the EU's conditions, Microsoft is obligated to offer Activision Blizzard games on all consoles and cloud platforms for a minimum of ten years. This request aims to prevent any potential anti-competitive actions, ensuring that gamers have access to a wide variety of platforms and options.