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Update 5:27pm: Adds details on lawsuit.
The Federal Trade Commission asked for a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop Microsoft from completing its planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI). Activision ticked down 0.8% in regular trading on Monday.
“Both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction are necessary because Microsoft and Activision have represented that they may consummate the proposed acquisition at any time,” the FTC said its complaint, according to media reports from The Verge and CNBC. The suit was filed in federal court in San Francisco.
MLex earlier report that the FTC was expected Monday to file for a temporary order that restricted Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from completing the mega videogame transaction.
The deal has a termination deadline of July 18, where the parties can walk away, extend, or renegotiate the deal. Microsoft (MSFT) will likely have to extend the merger agreement, which is going to cost Microsoft more money, according to CNBC’s David Faber.
The FTC originally filed a lawsuit in December to block the $95 per share Activision deal, though the suit was through an in-house administrative court proceeding that’s scheduled to take place in August.
“We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement, according to CNBC. “We believe accelerating the legal process in the U.S. will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market.”
The move by the FTC also comes after reports, including MLex, that Microsoft (MSFT) may be looking at ways to close the Activision (ATVI) deal around the UK antitrust regulator’s block of it. The appeal of UK’s Competition and Markets Authority attempt to block the videogame deal is set for July 24.
“Press reports began circulating suggesting that defendants were seriously contemplating closing the proposed acquisition despite the pending administrative litigation and the CMA orders,” the FTC said in the complaint, according to The Verge.
The legal filing from the FTC comes as the regulator had two closed door meetings scheduled for Monday, one for 9:15 a.m. and one for 12:45 p.m.
