Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) slid in Friday trading after reports the Federal Trade Commission is likely to sue to block Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) $69-billion purchase of the videogame publisher.
On Wednesday, a report claimed knowledge of the FTC’s plans, stating that the agency would likely file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Now though, Activision Blizzard executive vice president of corporate affairs, Lulu Cheng Meservey, has commented on the report on Twitter.
Meservey says it's "absurd" to suggests Microsoft's planned acquisition could have an anticompetitive effect. The Activision Blizzard executive then goes on to say the company "won't hesitate to fight to defend the transaction if that's needed.
As the report yesterday noted though, the antitrust lawsuit from the FTC is far from guaranteed. The FTC's four chief commissioners have yet to meet to decide on the lawsuit, and the nature of the planned lawsuit seems to instead stem from FTC workers being doubtful of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard's arguments in favor of the acquisition.
Earlier this week, a UK government agency published comments from Sony arguing against the planned acquisition. Sony allegedly stated that Battlefield has failed to rival Call of Duty, arguing that the sales disparity between the two prevents a proper rivalry. Microsoft did offer Sony a 10-year agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, but the latter apparently wasn't a fan of the proposed deal.
In mid-2022, Microsoft's CEO brushed off monopoly concerns over the planned acquisition, voicing similar comments to Activision Blizzard's Meservey.
ATVI shares dropped $2.65, or 3.5%, to $73.94.
