The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, saying the tie-up between the Xbox maker and popular gaming publisher would harm competition.
The commission voted 3-1 in favour of the complaint, which was filed in its in-house court.
Regulators said Microsoft’s ownership of Activision could hurt other players in the $200 billion gaming market by limiting rivals’ access to the company’s biggest games.
The transaction would turn Microsoft into the number three gaming company, behind Tencent and the Sony Group.
“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
“Today, we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”
In its complaint, the agency said if Microsoft gained control of Activision’s content, it would have the ability and increased incentive to “withhold or degrade Activision’s content in ways that substantially lessen competition — including competition on product quality, price, and innovation”.
“This loss of competition would likely result in significant harm to consumers in multiple markets at a pivotal time for the industry,” it said.
An FTC official said the agency was concerned that Microsoft could deny access, delay availability or degrade the quality of Activision Blizzard’s most popular titles to rival platforms.
Those concerns relate not only to consoles, but also to subscription services and cloud-based gaming, two markets still in development, the official said.
Microsoft’s proposed Activision Blizzard deal is the company’s largest and one of the 30 biggest acquisitions of all time. The transaction would give Microsoft some of the most popular video game franchises, such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
The Xbox maker already owns the Halo franchise and Minecraft virtual-world-building game.
However, Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company continued to believe that the deal would expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers.
He said the company was committed to addressing competition concerns and that it offered concessions to the FTC earlier this week.
“We have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court,” Mr Smith said.
Activision shares fell by 1.5 per cent to $74.76 after falling as much as 3.9 per cent earlier. Microsoft shares rose 1.2 per cent to $247.40.
In a letter, Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick assured employees he was confident that the deal would be closed.
“The allegation that this deal is anticompetitive doesn’t align with the facts, and we believe we will win this challenge,” Mr Kotick said.
He added that the combined company would be “good for players”, despite a regulatory environment that he said was “focused on ideology and misconceptions about the tech industry”.
The FTC scheduled its in-house trial to begin on August 2, 2023. In previous merger challenges in the agency’s in-house court, the judge issued an initial decision between seven and 12 months after the trial began, said Jennifer Rie, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.
This would probably put a decision by FTC administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell in early 2024. After that, Microsoft or the FTC staff litigating the case can appeal his ruling to the agency’s commissioners.
Microsoft and Activision have said the deal will close by June 30, the end of Microsoft’s current fiscal year. The FTC would need to separately sue in federal court if it wants Microsoft to put off closing the deal until after the trial is over.
In its release announcing the lawsuit, the FTC cited Microsoft’s decision to make two coming titles by newly acquired unit Bethesda Softworks exclusive to Microsoft’s platforms despite assurances the company gave to EU regulators that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles.
The lawsuit is part of an effort by FTC chairwoman Lina Khan to more aggressively police mergers, particularly those by the biggest technology platforms.
Since President Joe Biden appointed her to lead the agency in June 2021, the FTC has blocked mergers between Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, as well as Nvidia’s bid to buy SoftBank Group’s Arm.
The FTC heads to federal court Thursday in San Jose, California, in an effort to block Meta Platforms from buying a virtual reality start-up.
Although Brazilian antitrust officials cleared the Microsoft-Activision deal in October, other competition regulators, including UK and EU agencies, have also raised concerns. Those two bodies are not set to issue decisions on the deal until next year.
On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a deal to bring Call of Duty to the Steam PC gaming platform and Nintendo consoles.
The company said it had also offered a proposal that would keep Call of Duty on Sony’s PlayStation for the next 10 years, but the Japanese electronics company has so far rebuffed efforts to work out a resolution.
Sony has fiercely objected to the Activision acquisition, primarily because of concerns the US technology company could make content such as Call of Duty exclusive to its own gaming services.
“There has been one game industry participant that is really been raising all the objections, and that is Sony, and they have been fairly public about the things that don’t meet their expectations,” Xbox chief Phil Spencer said in an interview on Tuesday.
“From where we sit, it is clear they are spending more time with the regulators than they are with us to try to get this deal done.”
Joost van Dreunen, a video games expert who teaches at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said antitrust authorities had become sceptical of pledges, particularly by technology platforms, about future behaviour.
Mr van Dreunen provided comments on the deal to UK competition officials.
“I don’t think it is ultimately enough for the FTC to go on,” he said of Microsoft’s pledge.
The Redmond, Washington, technology company sought to placate possible labour concerns about the merger by reaching an agreement with the Communications Workers of America, which also represents employees in the gaming industry.
In the pact, Microsoft pledged to take a neutral approach if employees expressed interest in joining a union.
The company also said it would stop using non-competition or confidentiality clauses to bar workers from talking about discrimination or harassment as part of a settlement or separation deal.
The FTC has publicly raised concerns about the use of non-competition clauses and the impact of mergers on labour conditions.
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Read more about the coronavirus
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
