The Federal Trade Commission revived its attempt to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion purchase of Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard, indicating Chairwoman Lina Khan's insistence on stopping the deal.
The agency will move forward with an administrative law trial to stop the deal, according to a Tuesday filing. The administrative trial had been delayed after a federal judge denied the commission's request for a preliminary injunction in July.
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“The commission has determined that the public interest warrants that this matter be resolved fully and expeditiously,” the agency wrote. “Therefore, the commission is returning this matter to adjudication.” The decision to continue pursuing the case in the commission's administrative court is a breakaway from the norm since similar cases were typically withdrawn from both courts if they failed on the federal level.
The FTC's request for an injunction was declined by a federal district judge in July after a five-day trial featuring testimony from several tech executives. The FTC is appealing that decision in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with a decision expected to arrive this fall. Microsoft, meanwhile, is expected to finalize the deal by Oct. 18.
The administrative trial will start 20 days after the 9th Circuit's decision, according to a filing.
The two companies do not appear worried about the appeal. “We’re focused on working with Microsoft toward closing. How the FTC uses limited taxpayer dollars is its decision,” Activision spokesman Joseph Christinat told Bloomberg.
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“We still anticipate that we will close the transaction by Oct. 18, and we have full confidence in our case and the deal’s benefits to gamers and competition,” Microsoft spokeswoman Rebecca Dougherty said.
The United Kingdom-based Competition and Markets Authority is expected to approve Microsoft's purchase because the software developer amended its plan to sell its cloud gaming to Ubisoft.