Microsoft is temporarily barred from buying Activision Blizzard, judge rules

A federal court has issued a temporary restraining order that will prevent Microsoft from closing its $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard — at least for now. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint on Monday seeking to obtain a restraining order and a preliminary injunction and the court has agreed for restraining order while it considers that injunction. If the courts also grant an injunction, the FTC will have a chance to make its legal case before making any deals.

As a result of today’s order, Microsoft and Activision cannot complete the acquisition “no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the fifth business day following the Court’s ruling on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction” or a date (whichever is determined by the Court) can do later). The court has also set an outright hearing on the preliminary injunction for June 22 and 23, so it is highly unlikely that these companies will close the deal this month.

Microsoft and Activision announced the planned acquisition in January 2022, and in the months that followed, it faced heavy regulatory scrutiny. Although EU regulators approved the deal in May, UK regulators blocked the deal in April (a decision Microsoft has appealed) and in December the FTC sued in another attempt to block the deal. Did.

Technically, the deal should have closed before the July 18 deadline. If the deal is not renegotiated to extend that deadline, Microsoft is obligated to pay Activision Blizzard a $3 billion breakup fee.