Factbox: Microsoft's Activision bid latest to face Biden's tough antitrust scrutiny

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings

12/12/2022 15:59

Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has
moved to block Microsoft's  MSFT.O  $69 billion bid for "Call of
Duty" maker Activision Blizzard  ATVI.O , as President Joe
Biden's administration takes a more aggressive approach to
antitrust enforcement. 
    Large deals, including Nvidia Corp's  NVDA.O  bid to buy
UK-based chip firm Arm Ltd, have been abandoned following
regulatory hurdles.
    Here is a list of some mergers that faced strong antitrust
scrutiny under the Biden regime:
 DEALS UNDER SCRUTINY 
                         DEAL               CONTEXT
  DEAL       VALUE              
                                
 Microsoft   $69 billion        "Microsoft has already shown
 -                              that it can and will withhold
 Activision                     content from its gaming
 Blizzard                       rivals,"  Holly Vedova,
                                director of the FTC's Bureau of
                                Competition said in the
                                complaint.
 Meta        Unknown            The Biden administration on
 Platforms                      Dec. 8 accused Meta of trying
 - Within                       to buy its way to dominance in
                                the metaverse, kicking off a
                                high-profile trial to try to
                                prevent the Facebook parent
                                from buying virtual reality app
                                developer Within Inc. 
 Amazon.com  $1.7 billion       The FTC in September asked the
 - iRobot                       companies for more information
                                on the buyout.
                                    The probe was launched to
                                check if the deal would
                                illegally boost the e-commerce
                                giant's market share in the
                                connected devices market as
                                well as the overall retail
                                market, according to Politico.
 Kroger -    $25 billion        Kroger on Dec.6 said it
 Albertsons                     received a request for
 Companies                      additional information from the
                                FTC as part of the regulatory
                                review process of the merger.
 DEALS BLOCKED & ABANDONED
             DEAL                           CONTEXT
                     DEAL       
                    VALUE       
                                
 Nvidia Corp - Arm  More than   SoftBank Group Corp  9984.T  in
                    $80         February shelved its
                    billion     blockbuster sale of Arm Ltd to
                                the U.S. chipmaker. The FTC
                                argued that competition in the
                                nascent markets for chips in
                                self-driving cars and a new
                                category of networking chips
                                could be hurt.
                                
                                
 Penguin Random     $2.2        Penguin owner Bertelsmann
 House - Simon &    billion      BTGGg.F  scrapped the merger
 Schuster                       in November. The Biden
                                administration said the deal
                                should be stopped because it
                                would lead to less competition
                                for blockbuster books and lower
                                advances for authors who earn
                                $250,000 or more.
 Aon Plc - Willis   $30         The companies called off the
 Towers Watson Plc  billion     merger that would have created
                                the world's largest insurance
                                broker in July last year.
                                    The DOJ argued the
                                combination would broadly
                                reduce competition and lead to
                                higher prices.
 Lockheed Martin -  $4.4        U.S. arms maker called off
 Aerojet            billion     plans to acquire  rocket engine
 Rocketdyne                     maker Aerojet in February. FTC
 Holdings                       said a deal would allow
                                Lockheed to use its control of
                                Aerojet to hurt other defense
                                contractors.
                                
  DEALS THAT WENT THROUGH 
                         DEAL                   CONTEXT
  DEAL       VALUE                  
                                    
 UnitedHeal  About $8 billion       The deal's completion in
 th Group -                         October follows a U.S.
 Change                             judge denying the Justice
 Healthcare                         department's bid to stop
                                    it. The DoJ had said access
                                    to the target's claims
                                    would give UnitedHealth a
                                    view into rivals' health
                                    plans.
 Illumina -  $7.1 billion           FTC's chief administrative
 Grail                              judge ruled in favor of the
                                    companies, in a blow to the
                                    regulatory body. 
                                    The FTC said in September
                                    it would appeal the
                                    decision.
 (Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
 ((Chavi.Mehta@thomsonreuters.com;))