justice
Tentative acquisition of Activision Blizzard blocked
The logos of the American multinational technology company Microsoft and the video game company Activision Blizzard. photo
© Andre M. Chang/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
The software giant Microsoft wanted to swallow the video game company Activision Blizzard for around 70 billion dollars. But a US judge stopped the deal for the time being.
A US judge has blocked Microsoft’s takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. He initially suspended the deal pending a decision on an injunction against the $69 billion takeover requested by the FTC. A hearing on this was scheduled for June 22-23.
The FTC had already filed a lawsuit in December to prevent the deal. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard announced the takeover in January 2022. The FTC believes that this would give Microsoft too much market power in the video game business.
The takeover is also controversial outside of the United States. Britain’s antitrust watchdogs vetoed it in April. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard objected to this. However, the competition watchdogs of the EU Commission approved the transaction last month subject to conditions. The Xbox group Microsoft wants to secure popular video games such as “Call of Duty”, “Overwatch” and “Candy Crush” with the acquisition.