"The facts have not changed," an Activision Blizzard representative said in a statement sent to PC Gamer. 'We remain confident that the United States will remain among the 39 countries that can complete the merger. We look forward to once again reinforcing the strength of our arguments in court."
Original post [FTC's request for preliminary injunction against Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard denied.
"Our merger will benefit consumers and workers," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement released shortly after the ruling."
"It allows for competition rather than allowing an enchanted market leader to continue to dominate a rapidly growing industry.
The request for a preliminary injunction was really only an interim step in the FTC's ongoing challenge to the acquisition and was intended to prevent the acquisition from being completed before a final ruling on the proposed acquisition is made; the FTC's complaint against the acquisition would be of little use if the acquisition is already completed, since the FTC would have to file a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the acquisition from being completed. The FTC's complaint against the acquisition would be meaningless if the acquisition had already been completed.
"In light of the parties' voluminous written submissions before and after the hearing, and after a five-day evidentiary hearing, the court denies the motion for preliminary injunction." The FTC has not addressed the argument that the combined company would likely pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that Activision's ownership of the content would substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets. Activision has not demonstrated a likelihood of success with respect to the claim that Activision's ownership of the content would substantially reduce competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets."
The judge rejected the FTC's argument that Microsoft's console exclusivity of Starfield and Red Falls demonstrated the possibility that the same could happen with the Call of Duty series, saying that neither is "anything like Call of Duty." He also said that complaints that the merger "would reduce competition in the cloud gaming market" were untenable because Microsoft has done business with companies that have never been heard of before.
"Before the merger, you couldn't access Activision content on cloud streaming services. After the merger, some of Microsoft's cloud streaming competitors will be able to access this content for the first time." The merger will strengthen, not weaken, competition in the cloud streaming market.
Indeed, the opinion seems to be fully supported: the judge found that while the FTC has not been able to adequately establish its case, Microsoft's commitment to continue to offer "Call of Duty" on the PlayStation platform for 10 years and its commitment to offer the Nintendo Switch with the series and signing all agreements with cloud gaming services, he said that the rigorous scrutiny of the deal has paid off. It appears that Microsoft's efforts to make friends were not in vain.
"The Court finds that the FTC has not shown a likelihood of prevailing on its claim that this particular vertical merger in this particular industry is likely to substantially lessen competition," the ruling concluded. To the contrary, the evidence in the record points to increased consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content." Accordingly, the preliminary injunction is denied.
Kotick said in a blog post that the ruling "paves the way for full regulatory approval elsewhere in the world" and that the company is ready to work with UK regulators who have already blocked the acquisition.
"We appreciate the way this process has been handled and the thoughtful ruling," the company said. These decisions are based on facts and data showing that our merger is good for the players and for competition in the industry."
The FTC, of course, has a very different view of the ruling.
"Given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles, we are disappointed in this outcome," FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar said in a statement sent to PC Gamer. In a statement sent to PC Gamer, FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar said. Farrar added, "In the coming days, we will announce the next steps we will take to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers.
It is possible that the FTC will appeal the ruling, but there is no indication at this time. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved in most countries outside of the UK, including the European Union, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. And with the FTC's complaint effectively deadlocked, it appears that UK regulators are ready to talk: in a statement sent to The Verge, The Competition and Markets Authority said it is "prepared to consider a proposal from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that addresses the concerns raised in our final report. We are prepared to consider any proposal from Microsoft to do so."
The deadline for the deal is set for July 18, and Microsoft is expected to wrap things up before then. The FTC trial to determine whether the deal will be approved is scheduled to begin on August 2.
Comments