Although she does not have explicit references, Lina Khan said that the body only work with the legal aspects of a takeover attempt, and that the matter won’t be questioned whether the promise was of a social nature. The claim that Microsoft wanted to acquire Activision and improve its work situation is clearly related to the recent controversy made by the company’s directors rage. Sometimes companies try to convince the FTC to abandon an illegal deal by taking ESG promises or swearing to make use of their power to what they see as the better. My editorial for the WSJ explains why this tactic doesn’t work. Just because of the infringing advantages of antitrust, we must be blind. We are acting as police officers who block illegal activities, not as shopkeepers who accept reduced competition in exchange for unrelated advantages. This seems to cut up the US unions who want the deal to go into port. The FTC is suing Microsoft for the attempted acquisition of Activision-Blizzard and doesn’t seem to want to abandon the war grounding. After a few days of teasing the statement of Microsoft-bound Brad Smith, who said he was confident in a peaceful resolution with the FTC.
