The Federal Trade Commission has issued a temporary restraining order against Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This is a temporary action intended to halt the acquisition pending the completion of the FTC's challenge to the acquisition.

As reported by The Verge, the FTC filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on June 12. The proposed acquisition has been approved in many other jurisdictions, including the European Union and China. The U.K. ruling is currently on appeal, and in the U.S., the FTC's December 2022 lawsuit has not yet made it through the courts.

"Until recently, Defendants have indicated that they do not intend to complete the proposed acquisition unless and until they obtain permission from European regulators, including in proceedings before this Court in private cases challenging the proposed acquisition," the FTC's filing states. However, after the UK Competition and Markets Authority's decision to block the acquisition, "reports began to circulate suggesting that the defendants were seriously contemplating completing the proposed acquisition despite the pending administrative proceedings and the CMA order."

The FTC's filing also stated that "the FTC had not yet made a decision on the acquisition.

Therefore, the FTC requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the transaction until these issues can be resolved, and today the court agreed, issuing a TRO that keeps everything status quo until all legal disputes are resolved. The order prevents Microsoft and Activision from closing the deal "until after 11:59 p.m. PT on the fifth business day after the Court rules on the FTC's preliminary injunction request. [If the court grants the preliminary injunction, everything will be held in abeyance until the FTC's full complaint is heard, ruled upon, and, if necessary, appealed to the extent possible. However, if the preliminary injunction is not granted, it would not be at all surprising if Microsoft stands on the preliminary injunction, closes the deal, and then sorts out the details.

Both Activision and the FTC declined to comment on the ruling, but Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, in a blog posted yesterday, welcomed the move, which "accelerates the legal process" and gives the company "a more rapid presentation of the facts regarding our merger He said he welcomed the move, which "gives us the opportunity to present the facts about our merger more quickly.

"Our talented legal team has been preparing for this move for over a year and is ready to present our case to a federal judge who can evaluate the merits of the transaction. The facts are on our side and we will continue to keep you updated throughout this process."

He was certainly right about the FTC's action expediting the process: Microsoft and Activision were ordered to file their opposition to the preliminary injunction application by June 16, the FTC was ordered to file its opposition by June 20, and evidentiary hearings on the preliminary injunction application were set for June 22 and 23. and 23 June.