US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila scheduled a two-day evidentiary hearing on the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction for June 22-23 in San Francisco. Without a court order, Microsoft could have closed on the $69 billion deal as early as Friday.

Davila said the temporary restraining order "is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending preserve this court’s ability to order effective relief in the event it determines a preliminary injunction is warranted and preserve the FTC’s ability to obtain an effective permanent remedy in the event that it prevails in its pending administrative proceeding."

Microsoft and Activision must submit legal arguments opposing a preliminary injunction by June 16; the FTC must reply on June 20.Davila said the bar on closing will remain in place until at least five days after the court rules on the preliminary injunction request. The FTC, which enforces antitrust law, initially asked an administrative judge to block the transaction in early December, arguing it would give Microsoft's video game console Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo

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