Compliance Into The Weeds - Antitrust Issues in Microsoft Acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Everything Compliance - Episode 93 - The Activision Blizzard Edition
After years of litigating its attempt to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently dropped its in-house challenge following the Ninth Circuit’s decision affirming...more
On May 7, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court opinion that denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) motion for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s acquisition of...more
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, one of the world’s most-valuable gaming companies, was announced. In April 2023, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal on...more
Since the announcement of a proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (“Activision”) in February 2022, enforcement agencies worldwide have adopted a spectrum of positions in response. The EU Commission...more
In the latest of a string of losses for antitrust enforcers, the Northern District of California resoundingly denied the FTC’s bid to enjoin the Microsoft-Activision merger, allowing the deal to proceed a week in advance of...more
This past Tuesday, July 11, a federal judge ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request to the District Court of Northern California to issue a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion...more
DOJ Sees First Merger Win After String of Losses - Penguin Random House’s planned acquisition of rival Simon & Schuster was blocked by Judge Florence Pan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia on November...more
..Two shifts in merger control enforcement in the U.S. have emerged that are impacting the technology space: an increase in challenges of vertical transactions and increased scrutiny and enforcement with respect to deals...more
While global dealmaking in Q1 was down from a blockbuster 2021, there are signs deal activity could pick up later in the year - Following a record-breaking year for dealmaking, 2022 has had a relatively slow start. A total...more