Rich Polk
Activision Blizzard stockNASDAQ: ATVI) sees some instability and is 2.4% down on reports that the Federal Trade Commission has issued a ban on Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earning $69B for video game publisher.
The committee voted to move forward it is a case after a few hours of meeting, according to media reports, even the press of Microsoft in the whole court in recent days to try to prevent this.
This would be the biggest threat to Microsoft in 20 years, since the DOJ’s case against the company. Microsoft stock (MSFT) has made some gains and is up to 1% Thursday afternoon.
The FTC wants to block the deal, saying it will “help Microsoft suppress competitors in its Xbox games and growing subscription and gaming business.”
“Microsoft has already demonstrated that it can and will covert its competitors in the gaming industry,” said FTC Competition Bureau Director Holly Vedova. “Today we want to prevent Microsoft from taking control of an independent studio and using it to destroy competition in fast-growing game markets.”
The FTC says its complaint documents Microsoft’s history of acquiring and using games to suppress competition — including acquiring Bethesda Softworks’ parent ZeniMax, after which Microsoft made several Microsoft titles non-exclusive despite being proven otherwise.
The FTC’s vote came across party lines, with three Democrats in favor of the complaint and one Republican against it, according to The Washington Post.
Microsoft’s efforts included sending President Brad Smith to Washington to urge commissioners not to block the deal.
Alpha’s analysis of analysts and traders indicates that the stock of Activision Blizzard could fall to $ 71 per share (about a 5% decrease) if the FTC goes ahead with the suit.
