US Judge pass order to temporarily prevent Microsoft from buying Activsion

A US federal court has issued a temporary order to prevent Microsoft from closing out the long pending Activision deal. The company has already been facing hurdles from the US FTC which has opposed the deal right from the beginning. US District Judge Edward Davila will hold a two-day evidentiary hearing on the FTC's petition for a temporary restraining order on June 22-23 in San Francisco. Microsoft might have wrapped up the $69 billion merger as soon as Friday without any hearing from the court.

If the Microsoft-Activision deal closes out, it would be the biggest buyout in the history of video games. Although the UK regulatory has blocked the deal, the EU body recently approved it. Microsoft would need clearance from the US, UK, and EU regulatory bodies to close the deal successfully.

On issuing the temporary order, US Judge Edward Davila said "is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending (and) preserve this court’s ability to order effective relief in the event it determines a preliminary injunction is warranted and preserve the FTC’s ability to obtain an effective permanent remedy in the event that it prevails in its pending administrative proceeding."

On the other hand, Microsoft and Activision will now have to submit legal arguments to oppose the preliminary injunction by June 16 with FTC replying to it by June 20.

Microsoft also commented on the ruling passed by the US federal court "accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the gaming market. A temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the court, which is moving swiftly."

The long pending deal between Microsoft and Activision was blocked by the UK CMA in April 2023 while the European Union approved it in May. With constant hurdles being put in front of Microsoft, the company believes that the deal would benefit the gamers and the companies in the future.