A group of 22 Republican U.S. members of Congress have reportedly urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to drop measures taken to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, calling it the latest example of “the FTC’s rejection of sensible antitrust policy.
The lawmakers, all from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, sent a letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan and two FTC commissioners on Monday and made it public on Tuesday. They argued that the deal was a “pro-competitive transaction.
The FTC is the U.S. antitrust enforcement agency. The FTC is considering whether to take further action after a U.S. district court ruled last week that the deal was legal and denied an emergency motion to stay it.
The aforementioned legislators wrote: “We are writing to express our concerns and urge you to drop this matter.”
Microsoft, which owns the Xbox console, has been taking steps in recent months to save the $69 billion merger deal. While antitrust enforcers in both the U.S. and U.K. have criticized the deal, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard appear to be getting closer to finalizing the deal.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is not only the largest deal in Microsoft’s history, it is also one of the largest in the history of the video game industry.
The letter to the FTC was signed by lawmakers including U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Texas) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Last week, House Judiciary members had questioned Khan on the matter.
The FTC confirmed it had received the letter but declined to comment. Microsoft has yet to respond.
“The FTC’s decision to seek a preliminary injunction against a pro-competitive transaction, Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, is the latest and most egregious example of its rejection of sound antitrust policy,” the letter reads.
“For 20 years, the Microsoft Xbox business has been the smaller challenger in the video game distribution and console markets.” The legislators added that “adding Activision Blizzard’s library of games is intended to help Xbox make those games available to a wider range of consumers, especially those who like to play games on mobile devices.”
