USA FTC Activision Blizzard Injunction 1
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Update: So, yes, the FTC has filed an injunction in an attempt to temporarily halt Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard — and the trillion dollar titan has welcomed it. The thinking here, allegedly, is that the Redmond firm is playing 4D chess, and it believes that by taking this to court earlier than expected it's actually going to accelerate the eventual conclusion. Which is, of course, that it ultimately gets what it wants.

Original Article: The USA’s antitrust department the Federal Trade Commission is allegedly planning an injunction which it hopes will temporarily halt Microsoft’s long-running attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard. You may recall that the FTC moved to block the deal last year, with a hearing due on 2nd August, after the merger’s 18th July deadline expires. Now, the division is seeking an injunction with a US District Court to prevent the deal from closing prior to the aforementioned hearing.

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Microsoft, of course, already has its work cut out trying to turn around a decision from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which elected to block the deal back in April. The Redmond firm will appeal that decision starting 24th July, but even if its case is successful, the ruling will still need to return to the CMA for a second review. So, despite being approved in most other countries, the buyout remains strangled by some pretty strong red tape – it’ll be interesting to see if the firm’s well-compensated legal team can ultimately untangle it all.

[source cnbc.com, via eurogamer.net]