24/7 Space News
TECH SPACE
Microsoft-Activision deal back on track after US court win
Microsoft-Activision deal back on track after US court win
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) July 11, 2023

A US federal judge on Tuesday resurrected Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard by refusing to allow a temporary suspension of the long delayed deal.

The US Federal Trade Commission, the Washington-based antitrust enforcer, requested that the blockbuster transaction be halted pending an investigation on competition concerns.

But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said "the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim," clearing the way for the deal to go through in the United States.

The decision handed a major victory to Microsoft and allowed it to close its purchase of Activision, the maker of "Call of Duty" and "Candy Crush," as planned on July 18.

Xbox-owner Microsoft launched a bid for Activision Blizzard eighteen months ago, seeking to establish the world's third biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony.

While the European Union has greenlit the deal, Microsoft still needs to overcome a veto from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in Britain.

"We're grateful to the court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution," said Microsoft President Brad Smith.

"As we've demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns," he added.

At the heart of concerns for regulators was the prospect that Microsoft would deny rivals access to wildly popular games, most notably the blockbuster "Call of Duty," and make them available only on Xbox consoles.

Another worry, especially for the UK regulator, was the fate of cloud gaming, a market that remains largely underdeveloped but would be of great interest to Microsoft, a cloud computing leader along with Amazon's AWS.

- 'Grateful' -

Microsoft was set for an appeal hearing in London later this month, but the company on Tuesday said it would consider further ways to satisfy the CMA.

"We stand ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns," a CMA spokesperson said.

Sources told CNBC that Microsoft was looking at a small divesture of one of its businesses to satisfy the UK regulator.

The FTC can appeal the ruling or could also continue to pursue its case, though the judge's position weakened the legal foundations of that prospect considerably.

An FTC spokesman said the agency was disappointed by the decision and would announce its next steps in the coming days.

The FTC in December sued to block the transaction with Activision Blizzard over concerns that it would stifle competition.

But Judge Corley said the remedies offered by Microsoft to assuage worries about the deal were effective to provide fair competition with archrivals Sony and Nintendo as well as other computer cloud operators of video games.

Instead of showing harm to competition, "to the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to 'Call of Duty' and other Activision content," she said.

The ruling dealt another defeat to the FTC, which is led by Lina Khan, an antitrust academic who had been an advocate of breaking up the biggest tech firms before she was nominated by President Joe Biden to the job in 2021.

In the same California court, Khan lost an attempt to stop Meta, Facebook's parent company, from acquiring Within Unlimited, a fitness app startup.

arp/caw/dw

Meta

Tencent

Related Links
Space Technology News - Applications and Research

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TECH SPACE
Hong Kong high-rise aims to become 'village' of the dead
Hong Kong (AFP) June 27, 2023
With its white marble foyer and lavish chandeliers, the 12-storey tower could be mistaken for one of Hong Kong's newest hotels, but it offers a longer stay: a final resting place for thousands in one of the world's most crowded cities. Hong Kong's 7.3 million residents share some of the most densely populated neighbourhoods on earth, and in the past, mourning families had to wait years to secure a spot for their loved ones' ashes. The Shan Sum columbarium opened last month with plans to eventual ... read more

TECH SPACE
Long history and bright future of space sample deliveries

SpaceX Dragon splashes down carrying 3,600 pounds of samples, experiments

SpaceX Dragon to return to Earth with experiments, samples from ISS

Virgin Galactic's use of the 'Overview Effect' to promote space tourism is a terrible irony

TECH SPACE
A space rocket hotter than the Sun

Unfavourable weather delays final Ariane 5 launch

Chinese private space company to launch latest rocket in 2024

ISRO terminates hot test for semi-cryogenic engine midway

TECH SPACE
Ingenuity phones home

A bumpy road ahead for Curiosity: Sols 3876-3879

Gullies on Mars could have been formed by recent periods of liquid meltwater

Up up up and finally over: Sols 3873-3875

TECH SPACE
Tianzhou 5 reconnects with Tiangong space station

China questions whether there is a new moon race afoot

Three Chinese astronauts return safely to Earth

Scientific experimental samples brought back to Earth, delivered to scientists

TECH SPACE
Radio telescope observations confirm unintended radiation from large satellite constellations

ESA unveils its comprehensive, high-resolution image library in a revamped platform

AST SpaceMobile and Maritime Launch Services Boost Capital with Stock Offerings

Apex raises $16M in Series A funding

TECH SPACE
Microsoft-Activision deal back on track after US court win

Mountain of strategic metals stranded in DR Congo begins to shift

The chore of packing just got faster and easier

No additional radiation at cruising altitude off the coast of Brazil

TECH SPACE
Preventing interplanetary pollution that could pose a threat to life on Earth and other planets

A surprise chemical find by ALMA may help detect and confirm protoplanets

Reconstructing alien astronomers' view of our home galaxy's chemistry

New era of exoplanet discovery begins with images of 'Jupiter's Younger Sibling'

TECH SPACE
First ultraviolet data collected by ESA's JUICE mission

Unveiling Jupiter's upper atmosphere

ASU study: Jupiter's moon Europa may have had a slow evolution

Juno captures lightning bolts above Jupiter's north pole

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.