According to three people with knowledge of the situation who were interviewed by Politico, the Federal Trade Commission is “expected to bring an antitrust action to stop Microsoft’s $69 billion buyout of video game behemoth Activision Blizzard.” This information was obtained from the publication Politico.
Even though the FTC was previously successful in blocking the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, the report published by Politico states that “a lawsuit against the deal is not guaranteed.” The FTC has not yet stated an official capacity.
However, preparations are being made for one, with “most of the heavy lifting” already completed. This includes receiving depositions from executives at Activision Blizzard and Microsoft (Satya Nadella), among other things (Bobby Kotick). As a consequence of this, it has been stated that “if the agency does move forward with a case, it may come as soon as next month,” according to a report.
The Federal Trade Commission would argue that granting permission for a significant platform holder to acquire one of the largest third-party publishers in the world, Activision Blizzard, would give Microsoft an unfair advantage over its competitors in the marketplace.
