According to a new report, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to pause its in-house trial against Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Sources familiar with the situation suggest that this may lead to a potential settlement between the FTC and the Redmond firm.
This development would be a major victory for Microsoft and Activision as they move to close the merger following a long string of disputes with U.S. and U.K. regulators. Notably, this news comes a week after the FTC’s request for injunctive relief was denied. If granted, it would have extended the restraining order preventing the deal from completing.
Earlier this week, Microsoft and Activision asked the FTC to withdraw its case scheduled for trial in the agency’s in-house courts in August. According to two sources in the report, the FTC must withdraw after losing its federal case to stop the merger. An FTC order is expected later today.
Once the agency withdraws its case, the companies can attempt to reach a settlement with the FTC or convince it to fully abandon its opposition. Notably, the FTC’s appeal of the aforementioned federal court decision remains ongoing. Microsoft has reportedly declined to comment.
Earlier this week, Microsoft and Activision agreed to extend the deal’s closing date to October 18 so that it could negotiate with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which announced its veto of the merger in April.
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