UNITED STATES — A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. The judge stated that a temporary restraining order was necessary to maintain the status quo while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenges the deal. Bloomberg reports.
The FTC had sought to block the deal in its in-house court and filed an emergency motion on Monday to halt the merger.
While the hearing for a longer pause is set to take place on June 22-23 in California, the ruling may come as a major setback for Microsoft. The acquisition of one the world's leading video game companies, Activision Blizzard, is expected to boost Microsoft's presence and capabilities in the gaming industry.
The temporary restraining order is intended to prevent any further consolidation of the two companies until the legal challenges by the FTC are resolved. Furthermore, the order aims to protect the competitive landscape of the gaming industry.
This is not the first time a major tech deal has been scrutinized by antitrust regulators. In recent years, companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have all faced antitrust lawsuits from US regulators.
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