After we received unconfirmed reports of a possible antitrust lawsuit by the US FTC a few days ago, the situation could be different again. According to the New York Post, concessions by Microsoft could lead to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard being approved by the FTC.
The planned takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has also been dominating the headlines of the international gaming press in the past few days.
It started with the unconfirmed reportthat the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may have decided to file an antitrust or antitrust lawsuit against the takeover. After Bloomberg reported this week that Microsoft was preparing for a possible litigation with the FTC armsthe New York Post is currently providing new topics of conversation.
As reported, citing FTC insiders, two members of the panel investigating the nearly $69 billion takeover are said to be on Microsoft’s side or in favor of the takeover. That would create a stalemate within the panel, which the New York Post says could critically weaken FTC chairwoman Lina Khan’s position.
Khan apparently wanted to show toughness
According to the unconfirmed reports, Khan is a staunch opponent of the takeover and wants to take the deal to court to demonstrate the FTC’s willingness to curb the power or influence of big tech companies. The article further states that the panel consists of three Democratic members and one Republican member. Republican Christine Wilson has already made it clear that she supports the takeover. If the New York Post reports come true, then the unity of the Democrats seems to be crumbling.
At least one of the three Democrats on the board is said to be willing to support Microsoft’s position and agree to the takeover. This would result in a vote of two to two. According to the New York Post, to prevent her own position from being weakened, Khan is now considering not filing a lawsuit and agreeing to the acquisition if Microsoft is willing to make unspecified concessions.
What this could look like is shown by unconfirmed reports from the New York Times, which said that Microsoft could commit to maintaining the “Call of Duty” series for a period of time ten more years to be offered on the PlayStation systems. According to William Kovacic, former chairman of the FTC, it could now be all about saving face for Khan.
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“The way out is to say: ‘We got a great offer and that’s only because we’re so tough,'” Kovacic commented on the whole thing. To make matters worse, concessions of this kind make the takeover more likely. “What makes it difficult is when Microsoft goes to its friends in blue and says, ‘We have provided a package of solutions to all the perceived problems, and the folks at the FTC are very unreasonable if they don’t embrace it,'” Kovacic continued .
Official statements on the current report of the New York Post are not yet available.
Source: New York Post
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