A California judge on Wednesday denied the Federal Trade Commission’s bid for a preliminary injunction to block Meta Platforms Inc.’s proposed acquisition of VR startup In just Limitless.
The sealed final decision from federal judge Edward Davila of San Jose, Calif., does not preclude the company from pursuing a independent circumstance to block the offer, in accordance to a Bloomberg report. Individually, Davila issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Meta from closing the transaction for a 7 days though the FTC decides whether to attractiveness Wednesday’s ruling.
“We are happy that the Court docket has denied the FTC’s motion to block our acquisition of In just. This offer will deliver professional-competitive advantages to the ecosystem and spur innovation that will advantage persons, builders, and the VR house additional broadly. We glimpse forward to closing the transaction quickly,” a Meta spokesperson informed MarketWatch.
The FTC declined remark.
Shares of Meta
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are flat in late-morning trading.
Facebook’s dad or mum company’s court victory is a significant blow for FTC Chair Lina Khan, a President Biden appointee introduced on to rejuvenate the federal government’s antitrust enforcement while Congress fails to enact any major legislation.
Khan, who produced her name with a lacerating paper on the monopolistic organization methods of Amazon.com Inc.
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has vowed a hardline stance on mega-mergers. This led her and the FTC to sue Meta in July for its proposed acquire of Inside, maker of the well-liked VR conditioning app Supernatural.
Meta Chief Government Officer Mark Zuckerberg and VR head Andrew Bosworth, testified through an eight-working day hearing in December around the issue.
In fact, background is not on the FTC’s side provided the court’s choice, some lawful gurus contend.
The FTC has commonly terminated administrative system when a federal courtroom declines to problem a preliminary injunction blocking a offer. The very last time the FTC pursued a continuing immediately after dropping in federal courtroom was just about 30 many years back, in 1995, in a case involving R.R. Donnelley and printing services.
