By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of individual plaintiffs on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily halt Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the largest in the history of the videogame industry.
The bid by the plaintiffs was separate from a request by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to pause Microsoft’s purchase of Activision, maker of the “Call of Duty” videogame franchise.
The filing comes after the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week rejected the FTC’s request, removing one of the few remaining hurdles stopping Xbox maker Microsoft from closing the deal and expanding its gaming business.
The FTC is considering its options after its losses in its bid to stop the deal, a source told Reuters on Monday amid expectations the agency’s fight is nearing the end.
Separately on Monday, Microsoft’s appeal against Britain’s block on its takeover of Activision Blizzard was formally paused by a London tribunal to give the parties more time to resolve the dispute.
(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)
