Microsoft clearly thinks its $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard will go through. The company has spent this week striking deals with Ubitus and Boosteroid to add Call of Duty to thh cloud gaming services for 10 years. However, all this is happening as regulators continue to show concerns about the deal.
The FTC has been the most vocal opponent, going as far as to take Microsoft to court to stop the merger. Microsoft's public deals and statements of making concessions seem to not make the FTC happy. In fact, the US Federal Trade Commission says Microsoft is actively withholding documents it requested as part of its investigation.
This information comes from newly released court papers (PDF file) as Microsoft and the FTC continue their legal battle. Now the regulator is asking the judge to force Microsoft into providing those documents:
“More than five weeks after receiving thirty-two document requests (the “RFPs”), Respondents have produced only a smattering of self-selected documents in response and have refused to produce anything at all for twenty-four requests.”
Investigations
According to the FTC, it met with Microsoft executives six times to request the documents, but the company has kept coming up with excuses to avoid handing them over. It is unclear if Microsoft will be forced to provide the documents in question.
The company is also facing regulatory investigations in the UK and Europe. It is thought the FTC, CMA in the UK, and EC in Europe are collaborating as part of a new era of international-regulatory partnership. Reports suggest if one of the authorities approves the Activision acquisition, the others will follow with the same decision.
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Last Updated on June 4, 2023 1:12 pm CEST by Markus Kasanmascheff
