The purchase deal has a termination date of July 18, but such dates can be extended and sometimes are, so Microsoft has pushed for a decision as soon as possible.
Image@ credit- DataDrivenInvestor
In the upcoming weeks, Microsoft will engage in two legal battles with US antitrust officials who want to halt the $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision.
The purchase deal has a termination date of July 18, but such dates can be extended and sometimes are, so Microsoft has pushed for a decision as soon as possible. The termination date was twice extended by the corporations after AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015.
The first battle will take place from June 22 through June 29 in federal court in California. The second, assuming it proceeds, starts on August 2 and is in front of an administrative law judge for the Federal Trade Commission.
The following four outcomes of the California hearing are possible:
The companies could close down if Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley grants the preliminary injunction. The majority of losing corporations in the past have abandoned the planned deal at this time.
* If the judge grants the preliminary injunction, the businesses will continue to negotiate the contract after July 18 and will then appeal to an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) administrative law judge in August.
Corley could reject the preliminary injunction request, in which case the FTC would give up the fight. The most recent instance of this was when VR content producer Within Unlimited was purchased by Meta Platforms. The FTC abandoned its internal legal appeal after losing in federal court.
Even if the judge rejects the preliminary injunction, the agency will continue to battle. A federal appeals court may hear an appeal of it. In any case, the FTC’s administrative law judge will hear arguments over the deal in August.
Here are the possible results if the case is heard by FTC judge Michael Chappell as scheduled in August:
* If Microsoft prevails, the FTC staff may request that the commissioners who voted to bring the case, as well as Chair Lina Khan, reverse the decision. A federal appeals court would be the next stop after that. Khan and commissioners overruled Chappell’s decision to decide against the agency in Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, and an appeals court is now hearing the issue.
* If the FTC prevails, the businesses may also request that the commission reverse its ruling and, if necessary, take the matter before an appeals court.
