ATVI - Microsoft set to battle with FTC in court over $69B Activision deal
2023-06-22 09:40:06 ET
Microsoft ( NASDAQ: MSFT ) will face off against the Federal Trade Commission in a San Francisco court on Thursday as the regulator tries to block the $69 billion planned acquisition of Activision ( NASDAQ: ATVI ).
Thursday marks the first day of a scheduled five-day trial in front of Judge Jacqueline S. Corley in San Francisco. The trial is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time.
The FTC last Monday filed for a preliminary injunction to block the $69 billion acquisition of videogame behemoth Activision ( ATVI ), saying that the regulator feared Microsoft ( MSFT ) may try to close the purchase even though the FTC had originally challenged it in December.
Microsoft ( MSFT ) CEO Satya Nadella, Activision ( ATVI ) CEO Bobby Kotick, and Phil Spencer, who heads Microsoft's Xbox unit, are set to appear in court as they are listed as witnesses in a court filing from Tuesday.
The trial is crucial for the deal because, often times, a company will walk away from a transaction if a court grants a preliminary injunction. While the FTC trial is important, M&A investors are also keenly focused on the appeals court in the UK, where the country's antitrust regulator blocked the deal earlier this year. A UK appeals court is set to hear the appeal next month.
The Activision/Microsoft deal has a termination deadline of July 18, after which the parties can walk away, extend, or renegotiate the deal.
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Microsoft set to battle with FTC in court over $69B Activision deal