WASHINGTON—Microsoft Corp.’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. will be reviewed in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission, a person familiar with the matter said, placing the fate of the roughly $75 billion deal in the hands of an agency whose leader has questioned acquisitions by powerful technology companies.
The FTC, led by Chairwoman Lina Khan, will scrutinize whether the tech giant’s move to expand its videogame business will substantially lessen competition, this person said. All proposed mergers of substantial size must be submitted for government antitrust review , which is conducted by either the FTC or the Justice Department. Both agencies have closely scrutinized tech deals in the past. Bloomberg earlier reported on the FTC’s review.
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