SONY - Microsoft Activsion ask FTC to drop suit against planned $69 billion deal

2023-07-19 17:36:47 ET

Microsoft ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) and Activision ( NASDAQ: ATVI ) filed a motion with the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to drop its lawsuit after the antitrust regulator lost its efforts in federal court to block the deal.

The companies made the request after a federal court and an appeals court last week denied the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to halt the videogame megadeal.

While the FTC lost its bid in federal court to block the deal, it still has an internal proceeding with its in-house administrative law judge, which is currently scheduled to start next month.

Activision and Microsoft ( MSFT ) said on Thursday they agreed to extend the deadline for the deal to Oct. 18 as they try to win approval from the UK's antitrust regulator, who originally blocked the combination.

"In light of this thorough airing and the district court’s findings that the FTC failed to raise any serious questions regarding the legality of the merger, there is little reason to believe the ALJ would reach a different conclusion," the companies said in the legal filing.

The filing comes after a Reuters report on Monday that the FTC was considering options after its loss, including pursuing its fight in the internal FTC court, continuing its appeal in federal court, settling with Microsoft ( MSFT ), or simply walking away.

The request from companies also comes after Microsoft ( MSFT ) on Sunday said it signed a binding agreement to keep the videogame "Call of Duty'' on Sony's ( SONY ) PlayStation following the completion of its acquisition of Activision ( ATVI ).

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