The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is doing everything possible to stop Microsoft from closing the $68.7 billion deal that would give the Redmond-based company Activision Blizzard King.

In this case, the restraining order means that until the court rules on the FTC’s application (disapproving of the takeover bid), everything stops and no further developments can take place. So it’s all in the air until a decision is made on the FTC’s legal challenge (they filed an antitrust case against Microsoft late last year).

The Verge reported that the FTC applied for a temporary restraining order on June 12 because it fears that Microsoft will close the deal even though the CMA, the UK’s competition and markets watchdog, has not approved it, even though the European Union or China has already approved it. According to the FTC’s filing, “Until recently, Defendants indicated that they would not complete the proposed acquisition unless and until they received clearance from European regulators, including in proceedings before this Court in a private case challenging the proposed acquisition. Press reports suggested that Defendants were seriously contemplating closing the proposed acquisition despite the pending administrative litigation and the CMA orders.”

The injunction means that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King cannot close the deal “until after 11:59 pm PT on the fifth business day after the court rules on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction.” Neither the FTC nor the publisher has commented. Still, the latter’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, welcomed the move in a blog post, saying it would “speed up the legal process by presenting the facts of the merger more quickly”: “Our excellent legal team has been preparing for this move for more than a year, and we’re ready to present our case to a federal judge who can evaluate the transaction on the merits. The facts are on our side, and we will keep you updated throughout the process.”

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have until Friday, June 16, to file their opposition, which the FTC has until June 20 to respond to, with evidentiary hearings on June 22 and 23.

Source: PCGamer