The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is still enjoying an upswing. Microsoft could be taken to court over its acquisition. From PlayStation or Nintendo?
The process of acquiring Activision Blizzard could be complicated for Microsoft. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission), the independent American agency tasked with preventing anti-competitive business practices, could attack the giant.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard under the eyes of the FTC
At the rate things are progressing, there will be as much news about the Activision Blizzard acquisition as episodes of Plus belle la vie (RIP little angel gone too soon? late?). After PlayStation, another entity with far more legal powers could stand in Microsoft’s way.
According to the sources of PoliticallyCiting three people familiar with the matter, the FTC is likely to take legal action to block the acquisition. If the agency went to the end of this process, so be it “the biggest move the agency has taken under Lina Khan’s presidency to limit the power of the world’s top tech companies” can we read Nominated by Joe Biden in 2021, Lina Khan is known for her criticism of GAFAM’s market dominance, a “Antitrust Hero”.
For now, it must be clear that nothing has been decided yet because agency officials have to vote on an anti-competitive complaint or meet with the companies’ lawyers. So is the deal to buy Activision Blizzard on the brink of collapse?
An acquisition in danger? There are precedents
We are clearly not there and very smart will be the one who will say how this will all end, for better or for worse. As Politico clarified, the FTC will “probably” take action, and if it drags on, a lawsuit will begin, the outcome of which we obviously do not know.
On the other hand, the American authority responsible for the application of consumer law and the control of anti-competitive commercial practices has already achieved its goals. In 2021, she went to court against Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM, believing the acquisition stifled innovation and violated competition rules. Confident despite this obstacle, Nvidia finally abandoned its purchase of ARM in February 2022 “significant regulatory challenges”.
The FTC’s other blow is that it scuppered the deal for Within, a Meta coveted virtual reality fitness application. accused of wanting “absorb competition” in that market, Mark Zuckerberg’s company withdrew while avoiding a lawsuit. Despite this, Facebook is being prosecuted for its dominant position in the social media sector. The company also owns WhatsApp and Instagram.
So we see the rules have gotten extremely tough in just a few short years, and the scale of the Activision Blizzard acquisition isn’t helping Microsoft in its quest.
Google also against Activision Blizzard X Microsoft merger?
If PlayStation, Nintendo and publishers have had their say in connection with Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, another player would be ready to fang out: Google. The giant accuses Microsoft of intentionally lowering the quality of Xbox Game Pass on Chrome.
If you missed the other revelations, you can consult this article where you will find more of our news on the subject.
