Microsoft Lawyer’s 10-Day Race to Save the Biggest Gaming Deal

23.08.2023 - 05:53 / tech.hindustantimes.com / Jacqueline Scott Corley / Bobby Kotick

Beth Wilkinson had 10 days to save Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., the biggest gaming deal ever.

The veteran trial lawyer had just over a week from the Federal Trade Commission's decision to seek an injunction to block the deal to implement a trial strategy and prep witnesses — including Activision Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick. Shortly after the trial started on June 22, Wilkinson used a white board to debunk an FTC witness's claim that the deal would push 20% of a rival's users to Microsoft's Xbox.

The long hours paid off. US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley cited both Kotick's testimony and the math-based take down of the government witness in her July 11 ruling rejecting the FTC's request to block the deal.

“That's the value of trial lawyers, we think of the narrative and the story and how you weave it together,” the 60-year-old Wilkinson said in an interview. “Once it was over, it was exhausting but extremely rewarding.”

One remaining hurdle for the Microsoft deal lies with UK regulators. The Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday gave the deal a new chance at approval after the companies submitted a revised proposal on streaming rights for Activision games. While the FTC is appealing Microsoft's trial win, the appeal doesn't stand in the way of the deal closing.

And by beating the FTC, Wilkinson helped Microsoft get past a crucial stumbling block on its home turf as the Redmond, Washington-based company races to close the purchase before a looming Oct. 18 deadline. Activision's Kotick had said in June that the game maker would be forced to abandon the deal if the agency won the case.

The 10-days of trial prep and five-day trial were the culmination of months of work on the case. Microsoft brought in Wilkinson, a name partner at Washington DC-based Wilkinson Stekloff, shortly after the deal was announced in January 2022. While the FTC first challenged the deal in December 2022, the agency didn't seek a federal court order blocking the merger until June.

“In terms of the unique preparation, I've never heard of a trial of that magnitude where you only had 10 days notice,” she said, adding that her team managed to get the documents and evidence to San Francisco, get the executives ready to testify and try the case during that span.

Her trial team presented an uncomplicated chronology of events and developments to show Microsoft had taken steps to address the agency's concerns that the acquisition would thwart competition, such as the company's promise to keep Activision's top games on rival Sony Corp. PlayStation consoles.

It has to be done in a way that's “compelling and reinforces your themes,” said Wilkinson, who has an undergraduate degree from