Microsoft's planned $69 billion purchase of video game company Activision Blizzard was blocked by a federal judge Tuesday, giving more time for an antitrust review of the deal.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco ruled in support of a temporary restraining order sought by the Federal Trade Commission that will stop Microsoft from closing the deal.
In a court filing Monday, the commission had sought both a restraining order and injunction to stop Microsoft’s acquisition of the California company behind hit games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga.
Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game system, has spent months trying to win worldwide approval for the merger. While a number of countries have approved the acquisition, regulators for two important economies — the U.S. and the U.K. — have taken action to stop it, arguing it could suppress competition in the video game market.
The judge said her order temporarily blocking the deal “is necessary to maintain the status quo” while the Federal Trade Commission's legal cases against it are still pending. The bar for issuing an urgent restraining order is lower than it is to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the deal. A hearing on the commission's request for an injunction is set for June 22.
The commission said it brought its case to a federal court this week because it was concerned that Microsoft was trying to imminently close the deal before the trial begins, which would make it "difficult, if not impossible” to reverse course if the acquisition was later found to be illegal.
Microsoft said in a written statement late Tuesday that “accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the gaming market."
“A temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the Court, which is moving swiftly,” the company said.
Members-only home swapping network Kindred recently announced its launch alongside a $7.75 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Homeowners and renters can exchange homes on Kindred's platform, which the company says allows members to travel and take advantage of remote-work flexibility at the fraction of the cost of a hotel or rental home. Justin Palefsky and Tas Amina, co-founders of Kindred, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Despite Elon Musk making the deal to buy Twitter, it's still unclear as to what all of his plans might be for it. Tesla’s stock dropped on Tuesday, potentially due to concerns over what the situation might mean for the EV maker going forward. Hatem Dhiab, a managing partner at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, and Bruce Goldfarb, the president and CEO of Okapi Partners, joined Cheddar News to talk about the ramifications of the acquisition for both Tesla and Twitter stockholders. "I think people are scared because the deal has some leverage that's tied to Tesla stock, and people are worried that maybe Elon will sell some of his stock," Dhiab said about the purchase. "But I don't think that that's likely."
Clothing brand PacSun and online thrift retailer thredUP are partnering up for "Pre-Loved Pac," a 360-resale program allowing PacSun customers to clean out their closets for credit and shop for gently used clothing directly through PacSun's website. Pacsun co-CEO Alfred Chang and thredUP CEO James Reinhart joined Cheddar News to talk about their collaboration. "The latest research shows that over 50 percent of this generation has engaged in either selling or purchasing something at resale," Chang said. "It's important to them and it's important obviously to the world in terms of what we can do in terms of recycling clothes."
New Jersey has legalized recreational marijuana. The state missed cannabis holiday 4/20 by just a day. Cannabis giant Curaleaf operates three dispensaries in New Jersey. The company's CEO Joe Bayern joins Cheddar to recap the big day.
According to the Morning Consult, consumer spending in March was significantly impacted by inflation even as habits changed from purchasing goods to services as pandemic restrictions ebbed. Kayla Bruun, an economic analyst for the Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to talk about the findings."Consumers are getting more and more concerned about paying for gas, paying for groceries — all these prices that are rising so quickly for things that they really don't have the choice but to buy," she said. "They're starting to cut back on the things that are a little bit more discretionary, realizing with prices as high as they are, it's maybe not the best time to be booking a vacation or upgrading their kitchen."
