FTC abandons Biden-era effort to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer The Republican-controlled Federal Arrangement Commission is abandoning a Biden-era effort to block Microsoft s purchase of Call of Duty video battle maker Activision Blizzard Related Articles Apple has had insufficient incentives in the past to start making iPhones in US Edmunds How to get the best auto deals this Memorial Day weekend Trump s latest tariff threats knock Wall Street European stocks and Apple lower Trump threatens tariffs on EU and penalties on Apple as his arrangement war intensifies Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO s speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military In an order issued Thursday the FTC declared it had determined that the population interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this incident It was the second time in one day that the FTC pulled out of litigation begun during the Biden administration Earlier Thursday the FTC noted it was dismissing a lawsuit against PepsiCo that was filed by the Democratic-controlled FTC in January Microsoft stated a billion acquisition of Activision in January It s one of the greater part expensive tech acquisitions in history and was designed to boost sales of Microsoft s Xbox gaming console which has lagged in sales behind Sony s PlayStation and Nintendo In December the Federal Contract Commission then led by Democratic Chairwoman Lina Khan sued to temporarily block the acquisition saying it would let Microsoft suppress competitors who want access to Xbox and its subscription content In July the U S District Court in Northern California denied the FTC s request to pause the acquisition but the FTC appealed Earlier this month a federal appeals court also denied the FTC s request In the meantime Microsoft completed its purchase of Activision in October after it won approval from Britain s competition watchdog which had also considered blocking the merger Brad Smith Microsoft s vice chairman and president commented Thursday in a message on X that the decision is a domination for video competition players and for common sense in Washington D C We are grateful to the FTC for in the present day s announcement Smith revealed Khan stepped down from the FTC when President Donald Trump took office in January and Trump fired Democratic Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya in March Bedoya and Slaughter have sued the Trump administration saying their removal was illegal Right now the FTC is made up of three Republican commissioners and it s unclear when the two Democrats on the commission will be replaced A message seeking comment was left with the FTC In the PepsiCo affair FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson commented the Biden-era FTC rushed to authorize a affair just three days before Trump s inauguration He reported Thursday that the situation which alleged that PepsiCo was violating the law by giving unfair price advantages to Walmart was a dubious political stunt But the FTC hasn t stood in the way of specific Biden-era policies Earlier this month a rule the FTC released in December requiring ticket sellers hotels vacation rental platforms and others to disclose their fees up front went into effect