The FTC Argues Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal to Buy Activision Should Be Blocked

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday argued in federal court for a preliminary injunction to temporarily block Microsoft’s acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard.

“If this deal is completed, the combined company … is likely to have the ability, an incentive, to harm competition in various markets related to consoles, subscription services and the cloud (for gaming),” FTC lawyer James Weingarten said in the government’s opening arguments in the first day of a five-day evidentiary hearing.

The FTC argues it needs a judge to block Microsoft and Activision Blizzard from closing their $69 billion merger until the agency’s in-house court gets to rule on whether the combination hurts competition in the videogame industry.

Read the source article at finance.yahoo.com