Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard Inc. CEO Bobby Kotick will be in court this week to try to persuade a federal judge in California to reject the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to block their $69 billion deal.
Other top Microsoft executives, including Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood and Phil Spencer, who heads Microsoft Gaming, are expected to take the witness stand, as well as Activision’s Chief Financial Officer Armin Zerza, according to the filing.
It’s unclear when Corley may rule, but a decision could come as soon as right after the hearing, which is slated to last through June 29. The deadline for closing the deal is July 18.
Microsoft claims it won’t limit Call of Duty to its Xbox console, according to court filings. It also argues the FTC can’t establish that the nascent cloud-gaming market will develop or that Microsoft would be a dominant player in it.
Nadella and Kotick will both testify live for 45 minutes, according to the court filing. The Microsoft CEO will face questioning about the deal and his gaming unit strategy, while Kotick will discuss Activision’s game business and future plans.
US authorities are not the only ones who have challenged the deal. UK competition regulators vetoed the merger, though Microsoft is appealing that order.
The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corp., 3:23-cv-02880, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
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