Microsoft avoided a possible initial legal hurdle in its $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,71,730 crores) acquisition deal Duty video game maker activism blizzardWhen a US judge on Friday refused to allow gamers to initially block the acquisition in a private lawsuit.
Private plaintiffs sued Microsoft in December in California federal court over the deal, which they called harmful to competition.
In a ruling issued late Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco federal court said Video Gamers had not shown that they would be harmed “irreparably” if the merger were allowed to proceed, before ruling on the merits of their case. damage”. ,
Microsoft and its lawyers argue that the acquisition would benefit consumers.
Corley emphasized gamers’ allegation that Microsoft would limit game availability. The judge said there was no evidence Microsoft could stop working current versions of Call of Duty after the planned merger, Corley wrote.
“The day after the merger they can play just like they played with their friends before the merger,” Corley wrote. The judge also said that “it is unlikely” that Microsoft will make any new versions of Call of Duty exclusively for the company’s platform before a decision is made on the merits of the deal.
A Microsoft spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
An attorney for the gamers said Monday that they would continue their challenge to the deal despite losing this preliminary round.
Joseph Alioto said the court concluded that a preliminary injunction was “not necessary at the moment,” but said “the evidence is very strong” that the proposed acquisition violates US antitrust law.
The court order comes just days after Microsoft won EU antitrust approval. The deal also faces regulatory scrutiny from the US Federal Trade Commission, and in China and South Korea.
British competition authorities rejected the deal, which would have been the largest ever in the gaming industry. Microsoft faces a May 24 deadline to appeal the decision.
US antitrust law allows private plaintiffs to sue mergers and acquisitions.
Corley dismissed Gamers’ first suit in March, ruling that the plaintiffs had not offered sufficient factual support for claims that the deal would violate US antitrust law.
He allowed the plaintiff to bring an amended complaint. Microsoft’s bid to dismiss the case is pending.
© Thomson Reuters 2023