An executive with Activision Blizzard has said the company “won’t hesitate to fight to defend” Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s plans to file an antitrust lawsuit. Thanks to a report from Politico, it is understood the FTC intends to file a lawsuit that would block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
In light of this update, Lulu Cheng, the executive vice president of Activision Blizzard has responded in a couple of tweets shared online. Cheng said she’d seen “a lot of speculation” concerning Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and called it “absurd” to suggest the deal could have an anticompetitive effect. Cheng added that the merge would “benefit gamers and the US gaming industry — especially as we face stiffer competition from abroad.”
We're committed to continuing to work cooperatively with regulators around the globe to allow the transaction to proceed, but won't hesitate to fight to defend the transaction if that's needed.
— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) November 24, 2022
Cheng said the company were “committed to continuing to work cooperatively with regulators around the globe to allow the transaction to proceed, but won’t hesitate to fight to defend the transaction” if required. Presently, the FTC lawsuit is not guaranteed, while the four commissioners with the FTC have not voted on a complaint or met with lawyers for the respective companies.
The FTC is concerned the acquisition of Activision Blizzard could potentially give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the video game industry. According to the report, most of the “heavy lifting” has been completed, including depositions of Satya Nadella, the chief executive with Microsoft, and Bobby Kotick, the head of Activision.
Let us know your thoughts on the matter, and for further updates on this story – stay tuned with GameLuster.
