Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Bizzard was announced in January 2022, but the deal is still a long way from completion. The CMA previously blocked the acquisition, and recently Microsoft, along with the FTC, held a series of court hearings over the merger.
Following hearings, South Africa unconditionally approved the merger. Many experts also believe that Xbox will win its case against the FTC. Such favorable conditions for Microsoft have led people to buy millions of dollars worth of Activision shares.
Thus, they expect the acquisition to take place.
As seen in this tweet, someone appears to have purchased 1,000,000 Activision shares twice at premium prices. The FTC trial ended a few days ago, and the judge’s decision in the case is expected to be announced in a few days.
This could mean that stock traders are expecting Microsoft to win the case. If the decision is made in Microsoft’s favor, Activision’s share price will skyrocket, resulting in a huge profit for the buyer.
However, if Microsoft loses the case, the share price is expected to fall sharply. It is also possible that this buyer has insider information about the case and makes a purchase in the expectation of a positive result for Microsoft.
Previous court hearings have been very controversial and have revealed many sensitive details from internal documents. Among them are Microsoft’s plans to make all Bethesda Softworks games exclusive going forward.
The gaming giant does not intend to abandon this deal, as it has already been approved by many other countries. With recent reports, the court hearings are quickly drawing to a close, but it’s not yet clear whether the decision will be in Microsoft’s favour.
