UPDATE: The FTC has now officially filed an injunction can be seen here , the original story follows below.
Intellectual property activist Florian Mueller, who goes by @FOSSpatents on Twitter, took note today when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scheduled a last-minute closed meeting at 9:15 EST. Based on information from various sources, Mueller believes that the intent of the meeting is to pursue an injunction against Microsoft. The latter company intends to purchase Activision Blizzard, a deal which the FTC has openly opposed since its announcement.
The meeting was closed to the public, and was described as covering “a nonpublic law enforcement matter,” meaning that few details have emerged regarding what was actually discussed. Mueller indicated that the interest taken in this meeting by those in the risk arbitrage field – meaning those who determine whether or not business mergers should be supported – means it likely has to do with the Microsoft-Blizzard deal.
Many now believe that the FTC intends to seek an injunction against Microsoft via a federal district court. This course of action may also indicate that the FTC feels they must take more drastic measures and cannot rely on the UK-based Competition & Markets Authority (CMA,) which also opposes the deal. It is possible, but not confirmed, that the FTC has information indicating that Microsoft intends to close the so far drawn-out deal within the next several weeks or even days.
Should the theory that the risk arbitrageur outlined be correct, I will comment once the FTC announces anything and I can't see the FTC winning a preliminary injunction. Maybe, maybe a temporary restraining order (2 weeks), but no more than that.
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) June 12, 2023
Will the FTC be successful in its attempts to shut down the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal? Mueller thinks not – he believes that they may be able to delay it via temporary restraining order, but that they will not win the attempted injunction. However, he does believe at this point that hte conflict between Microsoft and the FTC can only be settled in court, and that an out-of-court diplomatic solution will not be reached.
So far, none of this information has been confirmed. However, it does seem that the FTC will be taking a step forward in its attempts to block the Microsoft-Blizzard deal in the near future. Whether or not these efforts will be successful remains to be seen.
