• Source:REUTERS
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A US Judge has put a temporary hold on Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a popular video game maker, and fixed a date for a hearing next week, a court filing showed. Without the court order, the Xbox owner would have completed the billion-dollar deal.

According to a report by Reuters, US District Judge Edward Davila has scheduled a two-day hearing on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for a preliminary injunction for June 22-23 in San Francisco. In December, the FTC, which upholds antitrust law, petitioned an administrative judge to halt the deal. The administrative proceeding's evidence hearing is scheduled to start on August 2.

The federal court will determine if a preliminary injunction, which would continue throughout the administrative review of the case, is required based on the results of the late-June hearing. On Monday, the FTC requested a temporary ban.

Davila said the temporary restraining order issued on Tuesday "is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending (and) preserve this courtâs 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.

Activision, which said Monday that the FTC decision to seek a federal court order was "a welcome update and one that accelerates the legal process," declined to comment Tuesday. Microsoft said Tuesday "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 FTC declined to comment. 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 has argued the transaction would give Microsoft's video game console Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony Group Corp's PlayStation out in the cold.

Microsoft's bid to acquire the "Call of Duty" video game maker was approved by the EU in May, but British competition authorities blocked the takeover in April. Microsoft has said the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike and has offered to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide "Call of Duty" games to rivals including Sony for a decade. 

(With Reuters Inputs)